BUFORD -- Dexter Wood danced, Omar Hunter wept and just about everybody in green and gold partied through a bitter wind and driving rain on Saturday night at Buford's Tom Riden Stadium.
It's amazing what a 50-0 victory in a state title game can do to lift your spirits.
The Wolves (15-0) gave their normally staid athletic director every reason to shuffle and gave their mammoth defensive tackle pause by dominating every phase of the Class AA championship, routing Lovett (12-3) to capture their first state crown since 2003 and fifth overall.
It was the biggest point disparity in a title game since Tift County battered LaGrange 59-6 in the Class AAAA finale in 1983. And it wasn't even that close.
Buford racked up 423 yards of offense to Lovett's 107 -- 81 of that coming in the second half after the Wolves had already built a 30-0 lead.
"I was shocked," Wolves senior Tyler King said. "The last time we played Lovett [a 21-0 Buford win on Nov. 9], they hit us hard. This time we just jumped on them."
King and backfield mate Demetris Murray did a lot of the jumping. Murray rushed for 163 yards in the first half, while King rung up touchdown runs of 1, 4 and 17 yards to help Buford take complete control.
"Both lines of scrimmage dominated tonight," Buford defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. "Lovett's a tough team, a good team, but we played a little better tonight."
The Wolves kept up the pressure in the second half, getting touchdown runs from Murray, who finished with 210 yards on 15 carries, and a 40-yard reverse from Cody Getz in the third quarter. In all, the Wolves rushed 46 times on the soaked turf at Tom Pridemore stadium and attempted just two passes -- both incomplete.
"Before the game, we didn't know we'd run this much," King said. "But then it started raining, and we knew we'd be better on the ground."
The same did not ring true for Lovett, which managed just 84 yards rushing -- 7 in the first half. Taylor Mack led the Lions with four carries for 21 yards, but Buford held Lovett standout Andre Hicks to 7 yards on nine carries.
Lovett didn't even manage a first down until two seconds remained in the third quarter.
"Tonight was just our night," said Buford coach Jess Simpson, who earned his first state title as head coach of the Wolves -- he was an assistant on the teams that won three straight titles 2001-03.
"We think the world of [Lovett coach] Mike Muschamp. What he's done in three years over there is just unbelievable," Simpson added. "I'm just in awe of our kids right now."
Andy Kellogg finished off the scoring for Buford, recovering a bad snap from Lovett in the Lions end zone with :43 remaining in the third quarter. By then the game had long been decided, but Wolves players and coaches held their emotions until the final minute -- when wild celebrations broke out on the Buford sideline.
"I can't even describe how great this feels," King said. We always try to compare ourselves with that 2003 team [which won in similar fashion] now we've got the trophy to match them.
"As a senior, you couldn't pick a more perfect way to go out."
The game certainly capped a perfect season for the Wolves, who dominated from start to finish. The Wolves defeated their opponents by an average margin of 45-4 and won their final two games by a combined score of 98-0. The closest contest of the year was a 21-14 quarterfinal win over Charlton County in Folkston.
"That Charlton game was the toughest game of the season by far," said King. "But we just played Buford football, and we found a way to win."
"This was our goal all along," said Hunter. "We've been focusing on and thinking about this game all year."
After Saturday's performance, there's no doubt that it was time well spent.
Monday
April 28th, 2025
9:32AM
