Milton 49, Gainesville 46: a 47-yard kick for first place

Milton trailed Gainesville 30-17 at halftime Friday night. Then the Eagles scored 32 points in the second half, and won 49-46 on the road to take sole possession of first place in their region.

The last three came from kicker Ryan Jung, whom USA TODAY’s game story calls the nation’s No. 1 kicker. His 47-yard field goal put Milton ahead in the final minute.

It was his second long one of the night. Jung also made a 50-yarder with a tenth of a second left before halftime. Those were the two longest kicks of his season. He picked a good night for both.

The comeback took two plays to get going. Sheldon Atchison broke off an 80-yard run, and Derrick Baker scored from 7 yards out on the next snap. Later in the half, Milton turned a blocked Gainesville field goal into a touchdown for a 38-30 lead, and the teams traded scores the rest of the way.

Gainesville, ranked eighth in Georgia by MaxPreps coming in, lost its quarterback, Clemson commit Kharim Hughley, to an ankle injury before halftime, and he didn’t return. Sophomore Cooper Papka threw three touchdown passes in his place.

Milton is 7-1, and 4-0 in region play. Two region games are left: at Riverwood this Friday, Oct. 30, then Roswell at home on Nov. 6.