Hughes Panthers, their QB have eyes on 6A crown

FAIRBURN, Ga. - Hughes quarterback Prentiss Air Noland is really living up to his name.

And yes, Air is his real name.

"My dad gave me that name when I first came out the womb," Noland told FOX 5 Sports. "He put it on my birth certificate. That's my middle name. Some people think it's my nickname, but it's actually my middle name."

Prentiss Noland, Senior, was nicknamed "Air" in high school, so he wanted to pass that along to his son – legally.

Hughes is playing in their second straight Class 6A state semifinals, after a heart-breaking loss to Buford last year in the Class 6A championship. It's something that motivates these Panthers heading into this Friday's clash against Rome at Lakewood Stadium.

"It motivates us a lot. Like we lock back in when we try to like, play around too much, we tell ourselves we don't want that feeling we had last year," Noland said.

And if they needed a reminder of that feeling, it came last week as the 12-0, Class 6A Region 5 champion Panthers were on upset alert at halftime, tied at 21 with Woodward Academy.

"It was uncommon, you know, they weren't used to being in a situation where we were tied at halftime," Hughes Head Coach Daniel Williams told FOX 5 Sports. "We hadn't been tied at halftime even last year. So you're going to two years, we've been up at halftime."

Noland recalls throwing a pick-six to end the first quarter, then having to dig deep.

"You know, I kind of told myself I kind of told myself, this is where I'm going to find out the real me," he said. "And I found the real me in the second half, and I found a real Langston Hughes in the second half."

The Panthers went on to beat Woodward 56-28 in the Class 6A quarterfinals, outscoring the War Eagles 35-7 in that second half.

Noland threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns, putting him at 3,590 yards and 49 touchdowns on the season. 

"It clicked for Air when he was born I guess. He hit the ground running," Williams said. "I mean, it's the little things. He comes in early. He's a dual enrollment student, so half the day he's here, half the day he's at Georgia Military (College) taking classes. And when he gets here, he comes straight to the weight room. Then he's ready for practice. So he does stuff a lot different than a lot of players his age."

And the Panthers, who average 55 points per game, will keep looking to Noland to lead them, as they need 44 more points to set a new GHSA record for points scored in a single season – a record currently held by Rome's 2017 state championship team (758 points).