Wesleyan looks to break streak against Buford

NORCROSS - Every year it's the same thing for the Wesleyan football team.

The Wolves come into the highly-anticipated game against rival Buford with thoughts this could be the year. And every year they leave the field with a lopsided loss.

In 2003 they lost 43-3 after losing 49-13 in 2002 and 27-0 in 2001.

This year is no exception. Wesleyan (5-2, 4-1 in region) comes into Friday night's Region 8-AA battle with Class AA No. 3 Buford (5-1, 4-0 in region) having won three straight and are just a half-game back of Buford and GAC for first place in the standings and Wesleyan coach Will Jackson is hoping his team can find a way to end the streak.

But Jackson, whose team is 0-4 lifetime against Buford, said they are big underdogs, even at home.

"We've never beaten them and that can play a factor if things don't go your way early," Jackson said. "This (Buford) team doesn't have the superstars of the last couple of years but they are still solid, physical and well-coached. It'll take our best game to break that spell against them."

Buford coach Dexter Wood said his team always looks forward to playing Wesleyan.

"This is a game we always get excited about because it's a region game and a county rivalry and the kids always get up to play them," Wood said. "The scores the last few years are not indicative of the kind of program Wesleyan has. They went to the final eight last year and beat GAC last year. They are a quality team and we will have to ready to play, especially at their place."

Buford is rolling again having won three straight by an average score of 41-12. And that was without their starting tailback Mark Standridge, who is expected to return from a bout of mononucleosis Friday.

"We've been playing very well and we've had several kids step up while Mark was out," Wood said. "It'll be good to get him back this week, though it will only be for a few plays to get him back into game shape."

Standridge was leading Gwinnett County in rushing after two games with 335 yards and 8 touchdowns . Yvan Banag took over for Standridge and has 505 yards with 6 TDs in four games.

But the Wesleyan defense, unlike years past, has stepped up its play. Wesleyan has allowed just 13 points total in its last three games while averaging 27 points a game.

"We've played very well on defense but we also weren't playing teams with the talent level of Buford. I don't expect us to shut them out but hopefully the success we've had will help us find a way to slow them down a little," Jackson said.

Besides the rivalry aspect, a shot at first place in Region 8-AA is on the line and both coaches realize what a win would mean. GAC is undefeated in region play and is taking on Union County (2-4) Friday night.

"We're trying to get that No. 1 seed again and we still have to play GAC in a couple of weeks so this is a huge game for us," Wood said. "If we don't come out and play Buford football, we could be in a lot of trouble."

"We have East Hall and Dawson County after this game so we're fighting for our playoff lives these last three games," Jackson said. "We already have one loss and we need to win at least two of the next three games to get into the playoffs. If we loss this one it puts us in a must-win the rest of the way. It would be great if we could get that first-ever win over Buford so that we could have a little pressure of us down the stretch."