Thursday March 28th, 2024 6:36PM

Title trip on the line for Buford at Jones County

By Bo Wilson | Video by Seth Chapman

BUFORD — The Buford football team faces another long road trip in the Class 5A semifinals tonight.

The Wolves (12-1, No. 2 seed Region 8-5A) will make the long trek to Jones County (12-1, No. 1 seed Region 4-5A), their third-straight road playoff game, for a trip to the Class 5A state championship game in Atlanta next week. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on WDUN AM 550.

It's been a long road for the Wolves this season, after traveling to Ware County in the second round and Carrollton last week and now Jones County. In total, the Wolves have traveled 500 miles this postseason.

But it hasn't fazed the Wolves at all. They walked out of Waycross 34-6 winners and beat Carrollton, 24-21, last week. So, it could be said this team is road and battled-tested this season.

"You're going against better teams every week," Buford coach Bryant Appling said. "So, you've got to be prepared to do different things. We're going to work just like we do every week."

Jones County handed Griffin a 49-14 loss in the quarterfinals last week. The Greyhounds bring a balanced offensive attack led by Hunter Costlow (2,800 yards passing, 29 TDs) and a strong rushing game with Andrew Carner (1,100, 9 TDs). Jontavis Robertson (1,100 yards, 9 TDs) and Maleek Wooten (875 yards, 12 TDs) are Costlow's go-to receivers.

"Just play sound on defense," Appling said. "Playing the way we've tried to get our kids to play all year. We don't have to do anything extra special it's just about reading the keys, playing fast and playing physical." 

To watch the full interview, click play.

BUFORD at JONES COUNTY
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. 
-- WHERE: Greyhound Field, Gray
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550
-- BUFORD (12-1): No. 2 seed Region 8; defeated No. 1 Carrollton 24-21 last week in the quarterfinal round
-- JONES COUNTY (12-1): No. 1 seed Region 4; defeated No. 9 Griffin 49-14 last week in the quarterfinal round
-- NOTABLE: Buford leads series 1-0. The Wolves won 56-26 in the Class 5A 2016 second round in Buford. ... The Wolves are back into the semifinals for the first time since 2017 after seeing their streak of 11 straight semifinals ended last season. ... This will be the first time since 2012 Buford has played three consecutive road playoff games in a single season. They went 3-0 that year before beating St. Pius in the Class 3A finals in the Georgia Dome. ... The Greyhounds are in the midst of their best 3-year run in program history (31-6) and this will be their first semifinal appearance since 1961. ... Both teams have been at their best against the top teams. The Greyhounds are 3-0 (Northside-Warner Robins, Dutchtown, Griffin) while Buford is 4-0 (Milton, Archer, Ware County, Carrollton) vs. ranked teams in 2019. ... The key matchup will probably be the Buford offense, which is the top offense left in Class 5A (466, 35.8 ppg) against the Greyhounds defense (231, 17.7 ppg). Jones County, however, has yielded just 11.0 ppg in the playoffs, including holding the No. 2 offense in 5A, Griffin, to just 14 points, 23 points below their season average. ... The Greyhounds offense is averaging 32.7 ppg while the Wolves defense is the stingiest left giving up just 13.6 ppg. ... Despite being outgained last week, the Buford offense found a way despite being without their top two rushers in Gabe Ervin and Elijah Turner. Third-stringer Victor Venn had a career night with 239 yards. But the passing game was a dismal 2-of-10 for 42 yards and they were just 6-of-15 on 3rd down. ... Buford is looking for its first finals appearance since 2016. Jones County, which began playing football in 1929, is looking for its first-ever finals appearance.
-- NEXT: Winner gets Warner Robins-Starr’s Mill winner in the Class 5A championship game

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