Milton controlled the final 24 minutes after surviving a first-half shootout of historic proportions to beat Hughes 56-35 in the Class 5A championship game Tuesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and complete the first undefeated season in the program’s 75-year history.
The Eagles won their second consecutive state championship and third in seven years. Milton, the No. 1 team in 5A all season, is ranked as high as No. 2 in several national polls and is still harboring hope that it will be named the national champion in at least one of those polls.
“From the moment that we left the Benz a year ago and people knew that we were returning 18 guys, we had a target on our chest,” Milton coach Ben Reaves said. “They had to work hard. It’s tough to be perfect, but they didn’t lose a single thing - a spring game, a summer 7-on-7, nothing. They won everything this year, and now we’re back-to-back state champions.”
Fourth-ranked Hughes, playing in the championship game for the third time in four years (the Panthers won a title in 2022), finished the season 13-2.
Quarterback Luke Nickel, a Miami signee and AJC Super 11 selection, led the way for Milton. He was 21-of-22 passing for 413 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 52 yards on seven carries. Lester (committed to Eastern Kentucky) ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.
Four Milton receivers had at least 50 yards and a touchdown. Ethan Barbour (Georgia signee) had 139 yards on nine catches. Tristen Payne caught four passes for 109 yards, Jordan Carrasquillo had 91 yards on two catches, and C.J. Wiley (Georgia) had 58 yards on four receptions.
Milton’s 671 total yards are believed to be a state finals record.
“We’ve got the best offense in the country, I believe,” Nickel said. “Just getting the ball to my playmakers has been the biggest thing, trusting my guys. The o-line played great tonight and all season.”
Leading 42-35 at halftime, the Eagles got two touchdown runs from Lester - a 6-yarder midway through the third quarter and a 2-yarder in the fourth - to finally put the Panthers away.
Milton and Hughes were the two best teams in Class 5A this season for fewest points allowed, giving up a combined 24.8 points per game, so neither was braced for the wave of points that washed over them in the first half.
The offensive numbers in the first two quarters were staggering. The teams combined for 864 yards (467 by Milton), 564 passing yards (337 by Milton), and 11 touchdowns, including six of 50 yards or more. And the 77 points tied the state record for points in a half in a championship game.
The 91 total points are tied for second most in GHSA championship history, matching Griffin’s 56-35 victory over Carrollton in 2013 and trailing only Mill Creek’s 70-35 victory in 2022.
No stretch of the game showcased the offensive firepower of these two teams more than when they scored two touchdowns each in the final 1:16 of the first half. Carsyn Baker’s 8-yard run tied the game at 28-28, and Milton answered on the next play from scrimmage on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Nickel to Payne. After a pass interference call on Milton on the first play of the next possession, Maurice Gleaton caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Christian Langford to make it 35-35. Milton again struck quickly, taking a 42-35 lead on Nickel’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Wiley with three seconds left in the half.
Things settled down in the second half as Milton leaned more on ball control, and the Eagles held Hughes to 54 yards in the final two quarters.
Hughes finished with 451 total yards. Langford was 15-of-19 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 66 yards on 16 carries. Baker (four-star junior) ran for 115 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, and Gleaton had 127 yards and two touchdowns on two catches.
Milton-Hughes scoring drives
Hughes - 7-28-0-0 - 35
Milton - 21-21-7-7 - 56
First quarter
M - T.J. Lester 6 run (Alex Nover kick), 8:25
M - Jordan Carrasquillo 70 pass from Luke Nickel (Nover kick), 4:02
H - Carsyn Baker 70 run (Alex Brock kick), 3:46
M - Ethan Barbour 50 pass from Nickel (Nover kick), 1:57
Second quarter
H - Maurice Gleaton 62 pass from Christian Langford (Brock kick), 11:54
H - Baker 1 run (Brock kick), 8:55
M - Barbour 3 run (Nover kick), 5:52
H - Baker 8 run (Brock kick), 1:16
M - Tristen Payne 65 pass from Nickel (Nover kick), 1:06
H - Gleaton 65 pass from Langford (Brock kick), 0:50
M - C.J. Wiley 23 pass from Nickel (Nover kick), 0:03
Third quarter
M - Lester 6 run (Nover kick), 7:43
Fourth quarter
M - Lester 2 run (Nover kick), 6:36
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