High School

Milton beats Langston Hughes for Georgia high school football 5A championship: Live updates recap

After a wild, back-and-forth first half, the Eagles shut out the Panthers in the second half for a 56-35 win and a second consecutive GHSA state title

JD Humburg, SBLive Sports

CJ Wiley and Milton defeated Langston Hughes on Tuesday for the Georgia high school football 5A championship.
CJ Wiley and Milton defeated Langston Hughes on Tuesday for the Georgia high school football 5A championship. / Photo by Matt Christopher (2024)

The Milton Eagles (14-0) face the Langston Hughes Panthers (13-1) in the Georgia (GHSA) high school football Class 5A state championship game Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Milton is No. 2 in High School on SI’s national high school football rankings.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time, and High School on SI will have live updates from the game right here.

You can also watch the game live on the NFHS Network.

Refresh this page for live updates after the game starts.

Milton vs. Langston Hughes live updates

The start of the 5A game will be delayed. Kickoff is expected around 8 p.m. Eastern.

First quarter

Langston Hughes wins the toss and elects to receive. Here we go.

First drive for Langston Hughes: Carsyn Baker 3-yard run. Christian Langford 5-yard keeper. Baker with a 2-yard loss. Then the Panthers try a fake punt ... and they fumble. Billy Weivoda recovers for Milton.

Milton first drive: TJ Lester 3-yard run. Luke Nickel passes to Ethan Barbour for 11 yards. Lester 6-yard run. Lester 4-yard touchdown run. Alex Nover PAT good. Milton 7, Langston Hughes 0, 8:25 1st quarter.

Langston Hughes second drive: Jabari Jones takes a screen pass from Chritian Langford 15 yards. Qwantavius Wiggins 4-yard run. Carsyn Baker 3-yard run. Incomplete pass. Punt. No fake this time! It's a 46-yard punt, downed at the 3-yard line.

Milton second drive: False start. TJ Lester 6-yard run. Ethan Barbour 8-yard reception. Barbour another catch — this one for 5 yards. Lester 4-yard run. Lester 4-yard run again. Jordan Carrasquillo 70-yard touchdown catch from Luke Nickel. Alex Nover PAT good. Milton 14, Langston Hughes 0, 4:02 1st quarter.

Langston Hughes third "drive" is one play — a 70-yard touchdown run by 4-star junior Carsyn Baker. Alex Brock PAT good. Milton 14, Langston Hughes 7, 3:46 1st quarter.

Milton third drive: Lester 1-yard run. Nickel to Barbour again for 19 yards. Lester 8-yard run. Nickel to Barbour for another long touchdown — 50 yards. Nover PAT good. Milton 21, Langston Hughes 7, 1:57 1st quarter.

Langston Hughes fourth drive: Carsyn Baker 1-yard run. Christian Langford avoids a sack, runs out of bounds for a 2-yard loss. False start. Langford avoids a sack again — and this time runs for 23 yards. (He's now rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his career.) Penalty on Langston Hughes — ineligible man downfield. On first-and-15, Baker runs for 3 yards, and the quarter ends.

End of first quarter: Milton leads 21-7.

Second quarter

Langston Hughes fourth drive (cont.): First play of the second quarter is a 62-yard touchdown pass from Christian Langford to Georgia commit Maurice Gleaton Jr. Alex Brock PAT good. Milton 21, Langston Hughes 14, 11:54 2nd quarter.

Milton fourth drive: CJ Wiley's first catch of the game goes for 4 yards. Lester with a long run ... but he fumbles at the end. Quavion Pitts — a defensive tackle — makes the recovery way downfield for Langston Hughes.

Langston Hughes fifth drive: Langford scrambles for 7 yards. Langford scrambles again for a few yards ... and then he fumbles. But Jabari Jones recovers for Langston Hughes. Next play, Langford to Jones for 33 yards. Chryshawn Sellars makes a 10-yard reception for his first catch of the game. Langford runs for 2 yards. Langford runs for 1 yard. Carsyn Baker 1-yard touchdown run. Alex Brock PAT good. Tied! Milton 21, Langston Hughes 21, 8:55 2nd quarter.

Milton fifth drive: Nickel to Lester for 11 yards. Lester breaks a tackle and goes 18 yards. Nickel keeps for 15 yards. Lester 8-yard run. Nickel avoids a sack and runs 7 yards. Incomplete pass. A long run by Lester is wiped out by a Milton penalty. Jordan Carrasquillo with a 21-yard reception. Barbour makes a great catch on third down for 15 yards to the Langston Hughes 4-yard line. Then the tight end gets a handoff and scores a 4-yard touchdown. Nover PAT good. Milton 28, Langston Hughes 21, 5:52 2nd quarter.

Langston Hughes sixth drive: Baker 2-yard run. Langford 20-yard run. Incomplete pass. Qwantavius Wiggins 15-yard run. Langford screen pass to Jabari Jones seemingly goes for 16 yards — but an illegal block brings it back. Jovanni McGee picks up 3 yards on a screen pass. Langford completes to Gleaton for 2 yards. On 3rd-and-10, Langford to Sellars for 10 yards and a first down — barely. Baker 4-yard run. Langford sacked by Caleb Bell. On 3rd-and-14, Langford scrambles for 7 yards. Fourth down. Jovanni McGee hauls in a clutch catch for a 10-yard gain. First-and-goal. Baker breaks a tackle and runs for a 7-yard touchdown. Alex Brock PAT good. 12-play, 65-yard drive in 4:29. Milton 28, Langston Hughes 28, 1:16 2nd quarter.

Milton sixth drive: One play. Nickel to Tristen Payne for a 65-yard touchdown. Nover PAT good. Milton 35, Langston Hughes 28, 1:06 2nd quarter.

Langston Hughes seventh drive: Panthers get 15 yards on a pass interference penalty. Next play ... Maurice Gleaton Jr. with a 60-yard touchdown catch. (He gets a penalty for spiking the ball, though.) Alex Brock PAT good. Milton 35, Langston Hughes 35, 0:50 2nd quarter.

Milton seventh drive: Barbour with a 9-yard reception. CJ Wiley with a 24-yard reception. Wiley another catch, this one for 12 yards. Wiley hauls in a jump ball in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown! What a catch. And what a game. Nover PAT good. Milton 42, Langston Hughes 35, 0:03 2nd quarter.

Langston Hughes takes a knee. 77 points in the first half!!!

End of second quarter: Milton leads 42-35.

Third quarter

Milton eighth drive: Lester stopped for no gain. Nickel to Payne for 13 yards. Lester for 3 yards. Nickel runs for 7 yards. Lester runs for 6 yards (he's over 100 for the game). Nickel to Barbour for 18 yards. Kevin Maven-Winchester is stopped for a 5-yard loss. Nickel scrambles for 8 yards. Lester runs for 10 yards. Nickel to Barbour for 6 yards (his ninth catch of the game). Lester runs for a 7-yard touchdown. He's at 16 carries for 131 yards today. Nover PAT good. Milton 49, Langston Hughes 35, 7:43 3rd quarter.

Langston Hughes ninth drive: Langford runs for 6 yards. He runs again — this time for 13 yards. Wiggins runs for 1 yard. Langford sacked by Christian Hunter for a 7-yard loss. 3rd-and-16. Incomplete pass to Maurice Gleaton — broken up by star receiver CJ Wiley. Punt. It's a good one — 66 yards.

Milton ninth drive: Lester rips off a 20-yard run on the first play (he's at 17 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns). Lester for 4 yards. Nickel to tight end Ryan Ghea for 5 yards. Lester stopped for a loss this time — Kijohn Braxton with the tackle for loss. Langston Hughes' defense forces a punt.

Langston Hughes 10th drive: Baker 2-yard run. Xavier Tiller picks up 4 yards on a reception. Baker 12-yard run. McGee 3-yard catch. Baker stopped for no gain — Tristan Lester, TJ's little brother, with the tackle. Pass interference penalty gives the Panthers 15 yards. Wiggins 8-yard run. Wiggins 4-yard run. Langford 5-yard run.

End of third quarter: Milton leads 49-35.

Fourth quarter

Langston Hughes 10th drive (cont.): Incomplete pass. Baker 1-yard run. 4th-and-4. Langford trips as he's trying to run for the first down! Milton ball. Langston Hughes held the ball for 4:04 and didn't score. Defense needs a stop now.

Milton 10th drive: Nickel 3-yard run. Nickel to Payne for 11 yards. Lester 7-yard run. Lester 24-yard run. Lester 5-yard run. Nickel runs for 4 yards. Nickel runs for 6 yards on 3rd-and-1. Nickel to Payne for 15 yards — great catch by the senior receiver. 1st-and-goal. Lester 2-yard touchdown run. He has 185 yards rushing tonight. Nover PAT good. It's going to be tough now for Langston Hughes, which hasn't scored this half. Milton 56, Langston Hughes 35, 6:36 4th quarter.

Langston Hughes 11th drive: Langford scrambles for 9 yards. Sellars with a 4-yard reception. Incomplete pass. Gleaton makes a catch but is tackled for no gain. AJ Benton gets a sack to bring up fourth down. 4th-and-16, down 21, 3:37 to go ... and Panthers decide to punt.

Milton 11th drive: Lester tackled for no gain. Next play, he goes for 16 yards. Amauri Anderson runs for 7 yards. Anderson again for 1 yard. Anderson again for a couple yards on the final play. It's over!

Final: Milton 56, Langston Hughes 35. Back-to-back championships and 25 consecutive wins for Eagles, who shut out the Panthers in the second half.

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JD Humburg, SBLive Sports
JD HUMBURG, SBLIVE SPORTS

JD Humburg is a Managing Editor for SBLive Sports.

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