Langston Hughes 47, Dacula 28

“This being the first time for this school and this community is huge,” Panther head coach Daniel Williams said after leading the program to the state title game in just his third season at the helm. “I’m so proud of the kids, our coaches, our parents. Everybody.”

For Hughes, the final score was not indicative of the Panthers’ dominance as they led 13-0 after just four plays and four minutes of playing time. After forcing the Falcons into back-to-back three-and-outs on their first two possessions, the Panthers scored on back-to-back two-play drives. Both touchdowns came courtesy of long touchdown passes from quarterback Prentiss “Air” Noland to Rodney Shelly – the first for 60 yards, the next for 63 yards.

Hughes surrendered an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by senior Percy Williams to briefly cut the lead to 13-7. But just eight plays and three minutes later, Jamarion Harris scored on a 2-yard run to push the lead to 20-7 as the first quarter ended. The Panthers had actually scored four plays into the drive, but a 40-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jelani Thurman was nullified by a block-in-the-back penalty.

Hughes tacked on two more touchdowns in the second quarter – a 35-yard pass from Noland to Thurman on a seam route, and a 7-yard pass from Noland to Shelly on a speed out to the front pylon of the endzone – to lead 34-7 at the half.

“We saw some matchups we thought we could get early and took advantage of them,” Williams said. “And when our kids get out in front, really get rolling.”

Just two plays into the third quarter, Georgia Tech commit Antonio Martin Jr. raced 69 yards for a touchdown and a 41-7 lead.

“We talked to our players all week about how fast and athletic they are,” Dacula head coach Casey Vogt said. “Then they come out and hit us with a couple of explosive plays right at the start and it was just too much for us to overcome.”

It was tough sledding for the Falcons as the Hughes front seven – led by seniors Michael Watson and Antonio Walker, junior Josh Horton and sophomores Aiden Watkins and DeMarkus Brown – was unblockable. Dacula was able to score three second-half touchdowns as Hughes played several back-ups and helped the Falcons by committing a total of 17 penalties in the game, four of them personal fouls.

“We got a little uncharacteristically undisciplined toward the end of the game,” Williams said. “We have to clean that up and fix that. We played a lot of young players and that was by design. They are a big part of what we’ve accomplished, and we wanted to make sure they got to get some playing experience in the fourth round of the playoffs.”

Vogt, in his first season at Dacula, said he was proud of the fight his team showed against Hughes and during the season. The Falcons started out 1-3 but eventually became the No. 2 seed out of Region 8, behind Buford.

“This team never quit,” Vogt said. “All they know is competing. They competed all year, on the field, in the weight room, in class. They compete. It’s a special group and I’m proud of them.”

Thirteen years ago, the Fulton County Board of Education cut the ribbon on a new high school on the county’s south side and named it in honor of one of the country’s foremost authors and play writes, Langston Hughes. Now the Panthers are one game away from paying tribute to the name of one the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance by writing a compelling story that now has one more chapter remaining.

“All year, we’ve talked about going 1-0 every week,” Williams said. “That hasn’t changed. It doesn’t matter who we play.”