Top-ranked Hughes, which lost a heartbreaker against Buford in last year’s Class 6A championship game, was finally able to get over the hump when given a second chance.
The Panthers scored two touchdowns in a 14-second span in the final minute of the first half to build a 23-6 lead and then held off Gainesville for a 35-28 victory in the championship game Friday night at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
The victory completed a 15-0 season and secured the first state title in the 14-year history of the south Fulton school.
“The feeling is … I can’t describe it,” Hughes head coach Daniel Williams said. “It’s surreal. It hasn’t hit me yet. I’m just so proud of the community, the players, the coaches, the parents. To win the first one in school history, that’s big.”
Gainesville had cut Hughes’ lead to 9-6 on a 28-yard field goal by Eric Guerra with 59 seconds remaining in the half, but the Panthers drove 71 yards on three plays in 36 seconds and scored on a 15-yard pass from Prentiss “Air” to Jekail Middlebrook for a 15-6 lead.
Gainesville fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Hughes recovered on the 18-yard line. On the next play, Noland threw a touchdown pass to Jaden Barnes and two-point conversion pass to Jelani Thurman to make it 23-6 with 11 seconds left in the half. The Red Elephants got within one score twice in the second half but never had the ball with a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
It was the toughest game of the season for Hughes, which had scored at least 40 points in every game and won each one by at least 26 points. The Panthers’ closest game had been a 47-21 victory at Class 7A McEachern on Aug. 26.
“The road was definitely hard,” Williams said. “You gotta think, we’ve played 30 games in two years, and for anybody that’s a lot. These kids responded each week. We were able to put up points and play defense, and they did that.”
Noland was 18-of-21 passing in the championship game for 263 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the season with 4,095 yards passing, which ranks 12th in GHSA history, according to a list compiled by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. He also had 55 touchdown passes, tied with Gunner Stockton for the second-best single-season effort, one behind Macon County’s K’Hari Lane in 2016.
Noland, recently named the Region 5-6A player of the year, will be back in 2023 for his senior season, as will 1,000-yard rusher Justus Savage. But the Panthers will have some holes to fill with the loss of four seniors who rank among the top 50 seniors in Georgia – No. 5 Thurman (committed to Ohio State), No. 9 Bo Hughley (Georgia), No. 23 Terrance Love (Auburn) and No. 47 Joshua Horton (Miami).
It was a disappointing end to the season for Gainesville (14-1), which was seeking its first state championship since Deshaun Watson led the 2012 team to a title. However, the Red Elephants took a huge step back to statewide prominence in their first season under head coach Josh Niblett, who’s best known for the six state titles he won at Alabama powerhouse Hoover.
The Red Elephants were 5-5 in Class 7A last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
Gainesville had 14 players earn awards or first-team recognition in 8-6A this season, and all but five were seniors. Among those scheduled to return in 2023 are offensive co-player of the year Baxter Wright (3,343 yards passing), WR Travien Watson (725 yards receiving), TE Sky Niblett (450 yards receiving), and offensive linemen Noe Covarrubias and Alex Payne.
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