MILTON, Ga. — Every team will have its growing pains, especially early in any season. But a young Buford squad may have taken a quick giant step forward Friday night despite a tough 13-10 loss to defending state champion Milton.
The Wolves defense won the turnover battle, got a safety, and stopped the powerful Eagles twice on downs. The offense out rushed the Eagles (109-99) as Buford rallied from a 13-0 deficit to have the ball on the final possession, though only with 16 seconds remaining.
All-in-all, it was not an unsuccessful opening to perhaps the toughest schedule the program has ever assembled.
“I’m proud of how much they grew up in this game,” Buford coach Bryant Appling said. “Things are never as good as you think they are and are never as bad as you think they are. I told them after the game they have a chance to be special. We haven’t lost our (opening) game for the first time in a while [2020] but we’ve been able to have a good season before and we can do it again.”
That year they lost to North Cobb to open the season but would go on to win the Class 6A state title.
It looked like it would be the perfect beginning for Buford. The Wolves opened with the old-school look they said they would with two tight ends and seven runs as they moved down to the Milton 28 on their game-opening drive. But JD Gregory missed a 45-yard field goal after the drive stalled.
Then it looked like it might be a long night as the Eagles took advantage. Milton marched 80-yards in seven plays, aided by a huge roughing penalty on Buford after they had stopped the Eagles at the Buford 44. Milton’s TJ Lester did the rest, breaking through three Buford tackles at the line to race 21 yards for a touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
But from there, both defenses dominated. After its opening drive, Milton had just one first down the rest of the first half, and that came on a run on a fake punt on a fourth-and-2 at the Eagles 48. They were stopped on downs once.
The Buford offense managed just two first downs in the first half after its initial drive and was 0-for-2 from the air in the second quarter. The Eagles sacked Dayton Raiola once as well. The Wolves were stopped on downs once at the Milton 21 with 30 seconds left in the half.
Buford had just 81 yards in the first half with Justin Baker accounting for 37 yards on 9 carries.
Milton’s high-flying offense managed just 109 yards, with 80 coming on its opening drive. Lester had 67 yards on 8 carries as Luke Nickel was held to 5-of-9 passing for just 38 yards.
Almost as soon as the half ended, lightning and rain forced a more than two hour delay. When they returned, Milton wasted little time. The Eagles needed just eight plays to increase their lead.
Nickel connected on passes of 30, 9, and 27 yards before finding Wiley on a 17-yard TD pass for a 13-0 lead after a botched PAT.
That’s when the Wolves woke up. Bryce Perry-Wright chased down Lester in the end zone on Milton’s second drive for a safety to finally get Buford on the board.
Early in the fourth quarter, Chris Garland picked off a high throw by Nickel at the Milton 15 and two plays later, Ethan Ervin ran in from 12-yards to trim the lead to 13-8. A Raiola 2-point pass to Sam Harkness made it 13-10 with 9:10 left in the game.
But that’s all the momentum they could gather as both defense once again clamped down.
“Our guys grew up a lot, especially from the first half to the second half,” Appling said. “We played hard the entire game. I thought we did some good things on defense and we gave ourselves a chance. That’s about all you can ask.”
