ATLANTA — Buford scored the final 41 points to erase and early deficit en route to a stunning 48-17 walloping of Class AAAAAAA Hillgrove Friday night in the Corky Kell Classic at the new Georgia State Stadium.
It was the debut of new head coach John Ford, who came over from Roswell to replace Jess Simpson.
The Wolves (1-0) trailed the Hawks (0-1) 17-7 after the first quarter but forged a 17-17 tie by halftime. It was all Buford in the second half.
Buford piled up 313 yards in the second half on offense while the defense held Hillgrove to just 53 total yards after halftime.
Senior running back Christian Tutrner sparked the offense with 128 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Senior Anthony Grant added 86 yards and one touchdown and Derrien Brown had 73 yards on the ground as the Wolves racked up 312 yards rushing for the game.
Freshman quarterback Aaron McLaughlin had a solid debut with 143 yards and two touchdowns passing and added a 6-yard touchdown run as well.
Tyler Gillis had 6 catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns receiving to pace Buford.
It was a 23-yard touchdown pass from McLaughlin to Gillis early in the third quarter that gave Buford its first lead, and one it never relinquished. They exploded for 24 third quarter points to blow the game open for a 41-17 lead and the Hawks never recoevred.
Hayden Olsen booted a pair of field goals for 29- and 30-yards for the Wolves.
