FAIRBURN, Ga. — All Gainesville wanted was a chance to play.
And play the Red Elephants did Friday night, putting on perhaps their best performance of the season when they needed it most.
Gainesville exploded for a 21-point second quarter, highlighted by a 70-yard Darryn Williams pick-6 with just 21 seconds left in the half, to roll past No. 1 Hughes 40-32 in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A playoffs.
It was the third pick-6 for Williams in the 2025 playoffs and snuffed out a potential game-tying score at the time. This one broke the spirit of the No. 1-ranked Panthers.
“The coaches put me in a great position to make a play,” Williams said. “I saw the receiver had tipped the ball. I caught it out of the air, I saw green grass, and I took off.”
Williams’ INT gave Gainesville (11-2) a 27-13 lead and capped a rally from a 13-6 deficit with Kharim Hughley TD passes of 7 yards to Collin Porterfield and then a 31-yard strike to freshman Trent Wilcox earlier in the period.
“I’m proud of the guys and how they battled,” coach Josh Niblett said. “(Darryn’s) play was a huge shot in the arm for us going into the half.”
The Red Elephants got the first possession of the second half, and two big Hughley runs moved them inside the Hughes 10. Hughley capped it with a 1-yard TD pass to Sergio Ruiz to extend their lead to 34-13 midway through the third quarter.
Hughes (12-1) scored a pair of touchdowns late in the fourth quarter after Gainesville had built leads of 37-16 and 40-24. But the Red Elephants recovered a final onside kick with 28 seconds to seal the win.
The game itself was the completion of a wild roller coaster two weeks for both teams after Gainesville had 39 players suspended following an altercation with Brunswick in the second round. They appealed to the Georgia High School Association and lost, but won an injunction against the GHSA’s decision from a Hall County Superior Court judge.
The GHSA countered by postponing the game and all subsequent Class 5A playoffs until relenting earlier in the week and allowing the game to be played. Niblett said they were just glad to put it all behind them.
“We just persevered,” Niblett said. “To come to practice every day, not knowing whether we would play or have certain guys. It was tough on (the kids).
“But Monday, we found out we played Friday. I mean, it just gave our kids a chance to kind of relax a little bit.”
If there were any nerves, they were quickly dismissed. On the third play of the game, Williams forced a fumble from Carson Baker, and Marshall Leonard pounced on it at the Panthers’ 33. On the next play, Hughley connected with a wide-open Legend Wilmont for a 33-yard touchdown pass.
Baker responded on the next Hughes drive, sprinting 32 yards for a score to give them a 7-6 lead. The Panthers would take a 13-6 lead early in the second on a 42-yard touchdown run by Qwantavius Wiggins.
But it was nearly all Gainesville after that, as the defensive front-7 led by Xavier Griffin, Jamarion Matthews, and Aiden Caine dominated the Hughes offensive line.
Now, the Red Elephants (11-2) will turn their attention to the semifinals and Rome, who knocked off Jackson County last week to advance. They will meet on Thursday in Rome with a spot in the finals on the line.
Dwight Lewis, who finished with 66 yards on just 6 carries against Hughes, summed up the past two weeks for the Gainesville roster.
“We wanted this chance so bad,” Lewis said. “We knew we could come out here and win this. There was no doubt in our minds.”
No one will be doubting them the rest of the way, that’s for sure.
NOTES: Hughley finished the night 11-of-17 for 128 yards with 4 TD passes and 1 INT. … Nigel Newkirk rushed for 69 yards on 19 carries. … The 37-16 deficit in the second half was the largest the Panthers had faced all season. … The Red Elephant are averaging 43.3 points/game in the playoffs. … Logan Gailey hit field goals of 19 and 26 yards for Gainesville.
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