Wolves get defensive, hold off McEachern in breath-taking finish <b>(VIDEO)</b>

BUFORD -- Despite allowing just 100 yards all season, Buford coach Jess Simpson told his star-studded defense they would be put to the ultimate test Friday night against Class AAAAAA No. 6 McEachern.<br /> <br /> He wasn't kidding.<br /> <br /> The Wolves defense was forced to make a last-ditch stand in a frantic final two minutes. They stood tall, stopping the Indians on four plays inside the Buford 15 to preserve a thrilling 27-20 win at Tom Riden Stadium.<br /> <br /> "(McEachern) has a lot of athletes and we knew it would be a battle and our biggest test so far," Simpson said. "I can't say enough about the effort of the entire team. We had a lot of second and third unit guys out there and everyone just rose to the occasion all night.<br /> <br /> "You only dream of a finish like that but it's not always that much fun to live it. But what a game. Tremendous."<br /> <br /> Josh Thomas would get the eventual game-winning score, capping a short drive after Buford's David Curry pinned the Indians deep in their territory with a nice punt and then returned a McEachern punt to the Indians' 12 moments later.<br /> <br /> Thomas scored on a 5-yard run and then sophomore quarterback Mic Roof found Caleb Auer for a two-point conversion for a 27-20 lead with 2:15 left.<br /> <br /> Roof had come on in the third quarter for senior Luke Humphrey, who left with cramping issues.<br /> <br /> It wasn't over, however. McEachern's Tyler Smith returned the ensuing kickoff to the Buford 27 and the Indians moved to the Wolves 7 with 16 seconds left.<br /> <br /> The Wolves (3-0) blitzed twice, forcing McEachern sophomore quarterback Bailey Hockman into two incompletions, the final in the end zone with :02 left.<br /> <br /> Thomas's run came after the Wolves vaunted rushing attack finally was able to get some traction late in the second half. Buford finished with 189 yards on the ground, most of that coming in the final 16 minutes of the game.<br /> <br /> "I think we did kind of wear them down finally starting late in the third quarter," Simpson said. "That's what we try to do and we just stuck with it."<br /> <br /> Thomas's run also came after McEachern had taken advantage of a short Buford punt earlier when Hockman connected with T.J. Rahming on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Indians a 20-19 lead with 8:45 left in the game.<br /> <br /> For McEachern (0-2) it was an eerily similar fate as their opener against nearby North Gwinnett. The Indians traded leads with Buford four times in the second half the same as they did with the Bulldogs in their opener. North Gwinnett scored with :09 left in that game to knock off the Indians.<br /> <br /> Thomas finished with 74 tough yards and two scores on 20 carries to pace the Wolves offense. Buford had four players with 22-or-more yards for the game as they kept fresh legs coming in the second half.<br /> <br /> It was much different in the first half, which was dominated by both defenses.<br /> <br /> Indians' defensive back Andrew Heyward stepped in front of a Humphrey pass on the fifth play of the game and sprinted down the left sideline 63-yards for a touchdown to give McEachern a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point. <br /> <br /> McEachern stopped the Wolves again on their next drive but a long punt by Curry pinned the Indians inside the 10-yard line. The Wolves defense then forced a quick three-and-out and McEachern punter Chris Hernandez kicked it into one of his own linemen in the end zone and the Indians recovered giving Buford a safety to cut the lead to 6-2.<br /> <br /> The Buford offense finally was able to move the ball with short passes, taking a short drive after the free kick and capping it with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Humphrey to Isaac Nauta for a 9-6 Buford lead.<br /> <br /> Buford stayed with the passing game to move to the McEachern 7 early in the second quarter and Matt Bonadies connected on a 24-yard field goal for a 12-6 lead.<br /> <br /> The Wolves defense dominated the McEachern offense forcing five punts and one turnover on the Indians' six first half drives.<br /> <br /> McEachern picked off another Buford pass with 3:13 left in the first half but could not get a first down despite starting at the Wolves 44. Two straight blitzes by the Buford defense forced another three-and-out and the fifth punt of the half for the Indians.<br /> <br /> McEachern would force a late Buford punt and had one last shot with 11 seconds left. But the Indians mishandled a hand-off on the first play giving Bonadies another shot to add on with :08 left. But his 46-yard field goal attempt was short and wide-right.<br /> <br /> The offenses came out of their shell in the third quarter.<br /> <br /> The Indians took the second half kickoff to the Buford 33 but three straight blitzes by the Wolves' defense forced three incompletions, including on 4th-and-3 to get the ball back.<br /> <br /> But Humphrey threw his third interception, by Bryan Okeh off a deflection, on the next play, and McEachern took advantage quickly. Hockman would hit a wide-open C.J. Windham on the next play for a 25-yard touchdown and a 13-12 lead.<br /> <br /> The Buford offense responded right back with an efficient nine-play 80-yard drive. Thomas accounted for 27-yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run, to reclaim the lead for the Wolves, 19-13.<br /> <br /> Hockman was harassed the entire game. He finished 16-of-35 for 157 yards and no interceptions but was never able to get into a rhythm. The Buford defense shut down Smith and Rahming. The duo had just 77 combined yards receiving after combining for over 300 yards against North Gwinnett.<br /> <br /> McEachern finished with 225 total yards, more than twice what Buford had allowed in its opening two wins combined.<br /> <br /> <b>SCORING SUMMARY</b><br /> <b>McEACHERN</b>....6....0....7....7 -- 20<br /> <b>BUFORD</b>...........9.....3....7....8 -- 27<br /> <br /> <b>First Quarter</b><br /> McE -- Heyward 63 INT return (PAT failed) 6-0, 10:04<br /> BUF -- Safety 6-2, 4:21<br /> BUF -- Nauta 20 pass from Humphrey (Bonadies kick) 9-6, 2:21<br /> <br /> <b>Second Quarter</b><br /> BUF -- Bonadies 24 FG 12-6, 10:24<br /> <br /> <b>Third Quarter</b><br /> McE -- Windham 25 pass from Hockman (Dominquez kick) 13-12, 8:52<br /> BUF -- Thomas 10 run (Bonadies kick) 19-13, 5:43<br /> <br /> <b>Fourth Quarter</b><br /> McE -- Rahming 20 pass from Hockman (Dominquez kick) 20-19, 8:45<br /> BUF -- Thomas 5 run (Auer pass) 27-20, 2:15