The most frequent high school football state champion this century and a first-time finalist will face off next weekend in the Class 6A championship game.
Top-ranked Buford (13-1) and No. 3 Hughes (13-1) will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium for the title.
Buford advanced to the championship game for the 13th time in 15 seasons with a 21-6 victory Friday night over No. 7 Carrollton. The game was a matchup of 6A’s top defense (Buford came in allowing 6.5 points per game) against the top offense (Carrollton was averaging 42.2), and the defense won out. Buford limited Carrollton to two field goals and 224 total yards.
Buford’s Ashton Daniels was 8-of-11 passing for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and Victor Venn ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. KJ Bolden had 55 yards on two receptions, including a 36-yard touchdown.
Buford’s record in semifinal games improved to 21-4. The Wolves are two-time defending state champions and have won 12 of their 13 state titles since 2001. They are 13-7 in championship games.
Hughes, which opened in 2009, will play for the championship for the first time in its history. The Panthers advanced with a 47-28 victory over Dacula in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. Hughes led 14-0 four minutes into the game on touchdown passes of 60 and 63 yards from Prentiss “Air” Noland to Rodney Shelly. Antonio Martin’s 69-yard touchdown run two plays into the third quarter gave the Panthers a 41-7 lead.
“We talked to our players all week about how fast and athletic they are,” Dacula head coach Casey Vogt told the AJC’s S. Thomas Coleman. “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.”
Hughes’ Daniel Williams took over as head coach in 2019 after the retirement of Willie Cannon, who started the program when the school opened. Williams went 2-8 in his first season but has things rolling now, posting a 24-3 record over the past two seasons.
Dacula, the runner-up to Buford in Region 8-6A, finished the year 9-5. The Falcons are 0-6 all-time in semifinals.
Hughes is the only one of the four semifinalists the will be playing in Class 6A next season. Buford, Carrollton and Dacula are all scheduled to move up to Class 7A.
Semifinals
Hughes 47, Dacula 28
Buford 21, Carrollton 6
Championship
(R4 #1) Hughes vs. (R8 #1) Buford
7 p.m., Dec. 10
Center Parc Stadium, Atlanta
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