Stout Buford defense relishing one last challenge <b>(VIDEO)</b>

BUFORD -- You can talk big games, championships, legacies and tradition all day... but if you really want to see a Buford football player get excited mention just one word: Defense.<br /> <br /> "That's kind of the face of our program. We've always had good defenses around here, and we pride ourselves on good defense," Wolves senior defensive end/fullback Tyler Shipman said. "It's a real big thing around here. If something happens on offense -- a fumble or turnover -- we are confident enough in our defense to be strong and bow our backs. That's the face of our program, a strong defense."<br /> <br /> "We love to compete and put a goose egg up on the scoreboard and not allow a touchdown -- that gets everyone fired up," Wolves senior defensive end/fullback Jordan Perlotte added, grinning. <br /> <br /> <b>(To watch a video feature with the Buford defense click "play" in the box to the right.)</b><br /> <br /> There has been plenty of reason for smiles this season at Buford, where the Wolves defense has helped lead the way to an eighth straight state championship game, crossing into "special" territory along the way.<br /> <br /> Consider that the unit enters Saturday's Class AAAA title game against St. Pius allowing just 5.4 points per contest. Most impressively, Buford (14-0) is yielding opponents a miserly 119 yards per game and only 1.5 yards per rush. In fact Class AAAAAA semifinalist McEachern is the only team to score more than 14 points on the Wolves so far this season -- and six of those came off an interception return for score in a Sept. 5, 27-20 win for Buford. That means that no team has managed more than two touchdowns in a single game against these Wolves -- who have also pitched six shutouts.<br /> <br /> Those are the kind of numbers that most defensive coaches could only dream of -- and ones that keep opposing offensive coordinators up at night. They are also approaching the domination of Buford's 2007 unit, a team that allowed a ridiculous 4.4 points per game en route to the Class AA title (and when you take away McEachern's defensive score, Buford is yielding just 4.9 points per game).<br /> <br /> As far as the Wolves are concerned, however, they're just numbers -- and they couldn't care less about comparisons or meeting some statistical standard. Their standards are geared toward championships.<br /> <br /> "Of course there's always going to be comparisons people want to make. That's the way it is over here," Perlotte said. "We try to overlook it and focus on the task at hand. We have to be prepared and go out there and play Buford football."<br /> <br /> And a big part of "Buford football" is stuffing the other guy, no matter how he tries to attack, which is why the Wolves have to be both tough and versatile. Certainly this year's defense has shown it has both attributes, stonewalling every type of offense from the triple option to the shotgun spread to the power-I. And while there is plenty of big-time talent in Buford's line-up -- a handful of Wolves defenders are Football Bowl Subdivision bound -- coaches and players alike say their success is about far more than just size and speed.<br /> <br /> "Our biggest strength is intelligence," said Buford defensive coordinator Bryant Appling, in his first season as the varsity's defensive leader. "They know where they're supposed to be. They're not scared to run and hit anything and being physical is a definite strength. As for weaknesses, we have plenty, but it's all about the effort. Once we're in the game our weaknesses don't show because of that effort."<br /> <br /> Of course it doesn't hurt having standouts like Isaac Nauta (a junior that will commit from a number of major suitors on Dec. 15), Quay Picou (senior Tennessee commit) and Shug Frazier (a junior being pursued by a number of major programs) on the defensive line, linebackers like Konnor Houston (senior, 65 tackles, FBS offers), Austin Smith (61 tackles, senior Tennessee commit), and Joshua Thomas (senior, 59 tackles, FBS offers) and safety David Curry (team-high 71 tackles, senior Virginia commit). But as the Wolves are quick to note, talent alone does not win titles.<br /> <br /> "They are really talented. We have a lot of guys with offers from colleges, but it's not about individual talent, it's about talent as a whole," Appling said. "These guys play together really well and challenge each other and it comes out on Friday nights."<br /> <br /> Most of those challenges are taken up Monday-Thursday in hyper-competitive practice sessions, where coaches stress the basics.<br /> <br /> "Basically what all of our coaches teach us is that it's all in the fundamentals," Konnor Houston said. "In the fourth quarter when (the opponent) comes out with something different that you haven't seen, it all comes down to fundamentals -- what we've done from July 1st through the summer and all season. So when you need something it's all in your fundamentals."<br /> <br /> That doesn't mean the Wolves always keep it simple, however. Last week's 27-3 semifinal win over Cartersville being a prime example, as the Wolves spent much of the contest shifting in pre-snap and confusing the Purple Hurricanes' pass-heavy attack as to where coverages were aligned and from where pressure was coming.<br /> <br /> "It's a college level defense. All of our coaches, they spend the offseason at colleges like Alabama looking at stuff," Houston said. "It's a very complex defense."<br /> <br /> "We really don't have a playbook. We install it little by little through the spring and summer," Appling added. "We have a base set of what we do, but a lot of it's a gameplan situation depending on what we do. They learn a lot through the spring and summer, and then we dwindle it down depending on who we're playing."<br /> <br /> This week that means prepping for a St. Pius triple option that also features wing-T concepts -- an offense that has the Wolves' full respect and concentration.<br /> <br /> "They're a very well coached, very sound football team, great on defense, great in the kicking game and make you do some really different things with their offense," Wolves head coach Jess Simpson said. "When you combine all that and say it's going to be for a state championship in the Georgia Dome it's a lot to take in in a week."<br /> <br /> It is a challenge that, like every other so far this season, the Buford defense is relishing.<br /> <br /> <b>BUFORD vs. ST. PIUS X</b><br /> -- WHAT: Class AAAA football championship game<br /> -- WHEN: 4:30 p.m. Saturday<br /> -- WHERE: Georgia Dome, Atlanta<br /> -- RADIO: WDUN AM 550<br /> -- BUFORD (14-0): Defeated Cartersville 27-3 in the semifinals<br /> -- ST. PIUS (12-2): Defeated Woodward Academy 28-21 in semifinals<br /> -- HISTORY: Buford won the only recent meeting, 10-3 in the 2012 Class AAA title game. The two teams split contests in 1984-85.

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