STATE SEMIFINALS: Buford rolls to 8th straight finals; Commerce falls

CARTERSVILLE -- It wasn't a night for offensive explosion, rather gritty and determined defense.<br /> <br /> And Buford proved, once again, it has more than enough of that, as the Wolves defeated Cartersville 27-3 on Friday night in the Class AAAA semifinals.<br /> <br /> Buford (14-0) held the Purple Hurricanes to 205 total yards en route to its eighth straight championship game appearance.<br /> <br /> The Wolves never trailed, although it took a late third quarter touchdown for a 20-3 lead to gain some breathing room. Buford's vaunted defense held the high-flying Cartersville attack to just 63 yards in the first half.<br /> <br /> The Commerce defense came in playing dominant as well allowing just seven total points in its two playoff wins in Class A Public. But No. 2 seed Irwin County, which came in as one of the top offensive teams in the classification, exploded for 21 second half points as the Indians wore down the Tigers defense.<br /> <br /> Commerce (10-3) was making its first semifinal appearance since 2006 and was looking for its first berth in the championship game since winning the Class A title in 2000.<br /> <br /> Buford will take on St. Pius, a 28-21 winner over Woodward Academy, at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Georgia Dome. It will be a rematch of the 2012 Class AAA state title game, a 10-3 win for the Wolves.<br /> <br /> For in-depth game stories, please visit our <a href="http://www.accessnorthga.com/fridaygamenight"><b>Friday Game Night</b> page.</a>