Drive for the GHSA State Title: Gainesville, Hughes long-awaited quarterfinals matchup on TV Friday

At long last, the last quarterfinals matchup of the 2025 GHSA Class 5A football postseason will be played on Friday night as the Gainesville Red Elephants will travel to Langston Hughes to face off against the Panthers in a highly-anticipated postseason matchup that has featured tons of build up.  

Friday’s matchup will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV), and streamed live on the Atlanta News First app. From your home, download the free ANF+ app anywhere you stream — FireTV, AppleTV, Roku and YouTubeTV — simply by searching for “Atlanta News First” on those platforms. If you are on the go, you can download Atlanta News First for free in the app store on your Apple or Android device. You can also watch live here on the WANF – Special Events channel.

The matchup between the Red Elephants and the Panthers was delayed by almost more than a week due to the appeals and rulings from the Gainesville athletic program and the Georgia High School Association following the Gainesville/Brunswick brawl in the second round on November 21st.

The only time these two powerhouse programs have met on the football field was in the 2022 Class 6A state championship game as the Panthers, led by former head coach Daniel Williams, defeated Gainesville and head coach Josh Niblett 35-28 as the Panthers took home the school's only football state championship three years ago.

Gainesville’s Niblett is in his fourth season with the Red Elephants and has compiled a 43-8 record with the school since coming over from Hoover High School in Alabama. On the opposite sideline, Hughes head coach Andrico Hines is in his first season as the head coach of the Panthers, where he has led them to a perfect 12-0 record thus far.

The 10-2 Red Elephants are led by an explosive offense with Clemson-commit Kharim Hughley being the catalyst all season long. Hughley has thrown for 2,203 yards and 28 touchdowns while adding six rushing scores with his legs, showcasing his dual threat capabilities. Hughley is rated as a four-star on recruiting sites and is heading to play for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in the fall.

Junior running back Nigel Newkirk has also been stellar in the backfield with Hughley this season, accumulating 1,425 yards and 10 touchdowns with nine games over 100 rushing yards this season.  

Senior wideout Philip Williams leads the team in receiving yards this season with 612 yards and five receiving touchdowns, averaging over 55 yards a game.

It's hard to talk about the Red Elephants defensive unit without talking about a pair of Alabama-commitments who have become absolute terrors off the edge in five-star Xavier Griffin and four-star Jamarion Matthews.

The two have been sensational for Gainesville this season and have made huge impacts to the defense with Griffin leading the team in total tackles (78 total tackles) and Matthews leading the team in tackles for loss (19 tackles for loss).

Both have signed with the Crimson Tide and are major parts of Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class.

Linebacker Darryn Williams leads the team with five interceptions and has added 77 total tackles and nine tackles for loss on the season as well.

For Hughes, Peachtree Ridge-transfer Darnell Kelly leads a talented Panther offense and has completed 69% of his passes for 1,972 yards and 25 passing touchdowns with 508 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns as well. Kelly is a three-star quarterback and will continue his football career at Colorado State next season.

In the backfield with Kelly is a dynamic running back tandem featuring four-star Carsyn Baker and Wisconsin-commit Qwantavius Wiggins. Baker recently decommitted from Florida this week and Wiggins recently flipped his commitment from FIU to Wisconsin last month.

The two have been a major part of the Hughes offense as they have combined for 1,663 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. Wiggins is averaging over 112 yards per game on the ground and is averaging over 22 yards per reception as well out of the backfield.

Florida State-commit, senior Xavier Tiller has been a threat in the pass game this season for the Panthers as he has recorded 17 receptions for 312 yards and nine receiving touchdowns, making himself a clear red zone threat.

Linebacker Russell Simpson leads the team in tackles so far this season with 72 total tackles and seven tackles for loss. The combination of junior defensive tackle Anthony Jones and senior Kijon Brown-Braxton have combined for 28.5 tackles for loss this season.

This Friday, the action will start ahead of the Score Atlanta broadcast of the Gainesville and Langston Hughes matchup at 7:30 p.m. with the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff, beginning at 7 p.m. on Atlanta News First (Channel 46) and the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV) and will be streaming on the Atlanta News First website/app. The pregame show, which will feature Rusty Mansell, Brandon Adams and Kaylee Mansell as they will preview the upcoming matchup with each person picking their winning team, along with interviews from each participating head coach.

After the clock hits zero, stay tuned after the game for the Georgia High School Postgame Show, which will be broadcast live from the Score Atlanta Studio, with Score Atlanta’s Craig Sager II, Landon Knight and Hayden Gilbert featured on the program. The postgame show will run from game’s end till 11:30 p.m. this Friday night, with a full breakdown of each game, call-in guests chiming in to voice their opinions, and updates from other top-tier games around the state. The postgame show, like the pregame show, will be broadcast live on Atlanta News First and the Peachtree Sports Network and streamed on Atlanta News First and the NFHS Network.