There are just 33 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2025 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign got underway months ago. And teams throughout northeast Georgia already are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind, we spent the last couple of weeks catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going, and what coaches believe the fall will look like. Our "Two-a-Days" series honors those old-school grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall, asking each area coach two key questions about the state of their respective programs.
Over the next two weeks, AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia.
(Teams run in alphabetical order)...
BUFORD (12-2 in 2024; lost in semifinals of Class 6A playoffs)
The Wolves fell one game short of their first state final since 2021 last season and lost several key players from that group, including nine starters on defense. But as is usually the case, they have plenty of talent waiting in the pipeline.
They will be young at several spots coming into 2025 but also return a lot of talent that saw significant action as backups who now appear ready to jump into starting roles. However, they do return Dayton Raiola at quarterback as well as some guys along the defensive front.
We caught up with Wolves' coach Bryant Appling to discuss what has been the focus along Buford Highway as try to make another deep run in the state's largest classification.
QUESTION: Coach, y’all lost 14 starters from last year’s group, including nine on defense, but also have a lot of young talent that got significant playing time last year. What has been the priority this summer as you try to find the right talent for the right spots?
ANSWER: Development, and playing together. The bottom line is the better we play as a unit, the more opportunities we get to build confidence and experience. Most of our rotators at this point, do you have some Friday night experience in big time situations. Confidence is key with new guys in new roles and I know they can do it. It’s just believing they can with great reps as we get going that will get the job done.
QUESTION: Senior QB Dayton Raiola had a solid year in 2024 and looks to be even more comfortable running the offense coming into this season. Will y’all look to throw the ball even more this year?
ANSWER: We have thrown the ball way more than people give us credit for the last four or five years. In any game we look for matchups and clear cut ways we have an advantage. We will always work to be balanced, but take the opportunities as they come. Dayton is more than capable of running this offense anyway we choose on a Friday night.
BONUS QUESTION: Y’all were one game from returning to the finals for the first time since 2021. How close is this group to being able to take the next step?
ANSWER: Only time will tell, and we will focus on what’s next always. Even though we don’t talk about it a whole lot, I know it’s part of their thought process. I believe we are headed in the right direction to give us a chance to do whatever we want this year, but that is hard to answer in July. I know one thing, I have a group of seniors that are hungry and ready to make the narrative about them and this team versus what has happened in the past. Not to disrespect any previous group that has laid the groundwork for this program, but I am ready to watch these kids work the process and improve on a daily basis to have a chance to do something special.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: CHEROKEE BLUFF
- Previous Two-a-Days: BANKS COUNTY
