BUFORD, Ga. — With two long drives to start the second half, No. 2 Buford turned a tight game into a blowout and earned a spot in the Class 6-A state semifinals.
The Wolves scored the first four times they had the ball in the second half on their way to a 43-7 win over neighbor and third-ranked North Gwinnett at Tom Riden Stadium.
“We ran the ball really well and threw the ball when we had to,” Buford Coach Bryant Appling said. “We did not have to throw it much, which is good. We stayed ahead of the sticks. On defense, other than a couple of quarterback runs we gave up, we stopped the run pretty good and we stayed on top of their routes (in the passing game).”
In the semifinals, Buford (12-1) will play host to top-ranked Carrollton (13-0) next Friday. The Wolves are in the semifinals for the first time since the 2021 season, the last time they won the state championship.
The Wolves ran for 254 yards, 176 in the second half when they took control.
“Our line of scrimmage definitely takes pride in what it does,” Appling said. “Coming out of halftime, we took the ball on a long drive and took about six minutes off the clock. I’m proud of them and the way we finished. It was really just execution.”
Separated by seven miles physically and 25 years since their last meeting, Buford and North Gwinnett played a tight first half, with the Wolves leading 15-7. Buford took the second-half kickoff and marched 66 yards in 10 plays. Quarterback Dayton Raiola hit Jordan Allen with an 8-yard scoring pass for a 22-7 lead.
After stopping the Bulldogs, the Wolves covered 85 yards in nine plays. There were several key plays. Justin Baker, who rushed for a team-high 97 on seven carries, ran 28 yards on a fourth-and-one to keep the drive alive. Jayvin Bennett caught a 19-yard pass, which led to Tariq Green’s 3-yard scoring run, which increased the lead to 29-7 with 1:28 left in the third quarter.
On the first play, after another North Gwinnett punt, Ethan Irvin ran 36 yards to the Bulldogs’ 12. Raiola scored on a keeper, and the Wolves went up 36-7 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Defensive back Chris Garland scooped up a North Gwinnett fumble and returned it 46 yards to set up the Wolve’s last score,e Ethan Irvin’s five-yard TD run.
The Buford defense did its part, holding the Bulldogs to 95 yards in the second half.
It forced a fumble on North Gwinnett’s first drive of the game. Aaron Holloway’s recovery set up Baker’s 23-yard scoring run for a 7-0 lead just 59 seconds into the game.
Baker then recovered a fumble on a punt return that led to Allen’s 4-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep.
“I challenge them to start fast and play Buford football from the get-go,” Appling said. “I’m proud of what they did tonight.
The Wolves are playing well at the right time. They have won 11 straight games, including the last 11, by an average of 35 points.
“I don’t think it was as good as we can be,” Appling said. “We still have a little jump we can make (in the level of play). Now is the time to do it.”
