No place like Dome for Wolves

BUFORD - There's no place like Dome for Buford football coach Dexter Wood.

"It's always special to go to the (Georgia) Dome and play where the Falcons play. It never gets old to me," Wood said on the Eve of his Class AA No. 1-ranked Wolves playing Decatur in the state semifinals at the Dome.

The Wolves (13-0) are making their fourth consecutive trip to the Dome and the semifinals, their second straight in Class AA. They went in 2000 and 2001 in Class A and came away with the title in 2001 and 2002.

On paper it looks like an intriguing matchup of two powerhouse offenses and two stingy defenses. Wood said he knows what to expect.

"I think it's going to be a low-scoring game,at least lower than what both teams are used too," he said. "Whenever you have two good defenses against two good offenses I always feel that defenses usually dictate a little more. I don't think you'll see the big numbers both teams are used to scoring."

Last week Decatur (13-0) outlasted Early County 28-21 in a battle of unbeatens to get to the Georgia Dome. The 21 points scored by Early was the most against Decatur in a game all season but Early came into the game averaging 41 points a game.

"To be able to hold down Early County like that was quite an effort," Wood said. "They have solid, quick (defensive) unit that knows how to get to the ball. We'll have our hands full."

However, after giving up just 43 total points in the first 11 games, the Buford defense has been touched for 31 points the last two games. Not to worry, said Wood.

"I think we've run into some teams that are a lot better offensively than some of the teams we played during the season. That's to be expected. Plus, we played some of the younger kids late to give them some experience. We don't worry about statistics. We just look to see if we outscored the other team at the end," he said.

But the Buford offense has been averaging 48 points a game in the playoffs.

"We've been executing the best all year on offense the last two or three weeks," Wood said. "If we execute like that, I think we'll be fine."

The Buford offense , of course, is fueled by senior running back Darius Walker, who needs just two touchdowns to break the all-time single-season record of 45 held by Herschel Walker and Charles Grant. Walker also has over 2,000 yards on the season.

Quarterback Kyle Manley and receiver Ryan Wood give the Wolves a solid passing game to complement Walker.

Wood and the Wolves also took no chance that they would be surprised by the new turf on the Georgia Dome floor by traveling to the University of Georgia to practice at their field that also has been lined with the new surface.

"We got a good look at it (this week) and I don't think that will be a factor at all," Wood said. "Plus, the kids really enjoyed being able to practice at a place like that."

But in the end Wood said the only thing they need to worry about is themselves.

"All we worry about is playing our game. If we come out and play Buford football, particularly the way we've played the last two weeks, I like our chances," he said.