HOSCHTON, Ga. — Buford picked the perfect time to pull off its most complete game of the season.
Although, apparently, perfect is a fluid thing for Wolves coach Bryant Appling.
“It wasn't perfect, you know, but we found a way to win,” he said after his group walked out of Markham Stadium Friday night with a 32-7 win over Mill Creek and the Region 8-6A title.
With a No. 1 seed on the line, the Wolves (9-1, 6-0 Region 8-6A) held Mill Creek to its lowest offensive output since 2020. A defensive front-7 led by Nicco Maggio, Bryce Perry-Wright, James Morrow, AJ Holloway, and Jadon Perlotte also stuffed a Mill Creek ground game led by Daniel Smith, who came averaging 124 yards/game.
Mill Creek finished with just 37 yards rushing (30 by Smith) and 144 total yards for the game. They also picked off Hawks’ quarterback Shane Throgmartin twice in the first half, which led to 10 early points.
The loss dropped Mill Creek (7-3, 4-2 Region 8-6A) down to a third-place finish in the region.
“Those two interceptions were huge, man,” Bryant said. “I've been on the corners and defensive backs all year long. But they've been getting better so for two of our corners to have a chance at a ball in the air and make a play, that was big.
“Against the run, we've done a good job all year long. The three guys up front -- Nico, Perry-Wright, James -- and all the linebackers have just been playing well all year.
But again, perfect is in the eye of the beholder.
“They did some stuff to make it hard on us, and we need to be able to change that,” he said. “A couple drives they got us just because of mistakes on defense or mistakes on special teams. We gotta step up and be better in the playoffs.”
While Appling is in the business of critiquing, to the casual eye, Buford dominated the opening half, if not the entire game.
The teams traded punts on their opening drives, but Buford would get the first big play. The Wolves’ Damarious Nibbe snared a tipped pass for an INT and returned it to the Hawks’ 44. That would eventually lead to a 24-yard Andrew Ivanicuic field goal.
After another series of punts, Buford struck again. Jordan Allen reeled in a simple screen pass on the left side and then split the defense and raced 53 yards for a score to push the lead to 10-0 early in the second.
The Wolves blew it open late in the half when the defense forced a 5th Hawks punt after they got inside the 40.
The Buford offense responded, marching 85 yards. Ethan Ervin had a 16-yard run to get it going. Quarterback Dayton Raiola found Jayvin Bennett for a 16-yard pass and connected with Allen for a 25-yard pass that got them to the Hawks 13 after a 15-yard penalty was added on at the end.
Three plays later, Allen hauled in a 12-yard TD pass, his second of the half, for a 17-0 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.
It was probably a more than welcome sign to see the Wolves offense look like a unit that could lead them deep into the playoffs.
The offense played well,” Allen said. “I feel like we're really coming together. And the defense played great holding (Mill Creek) to just 7 points.”
In the opening half, the Wolves piled up 203 total yards, 121 through the air as Raiola was 7-of-12 passing.
Throgmartin was just 7-of-12 for 73 yards passing with a pair of interceptions as well. Smith was held to just 5 yards on 7 carries in the first half. Mill Creek had just 92 total yards at the break.
However, the second half could not have started any better for the Hawks. A penalty on the kickoff forced Buford to start from its own eight, and then a short punt gave Mill Creek the ball at the Wolves 36. A 28-yard pass from Throgmartin to Carson Hurter on third down to the Buford 5 set up Smith’s 3-yard TD run to cut the lead to 17-7.
But that was the last real success the Hawks (7-3, 4-2 Region 8-6A) had. They were just 3-of-11 on third down as Throgmartin was sacked 4 times. The Wolves defense also produced 6 more TFLs on the night.
The Wolves snatched the momentum right back. Tyriq Green broke loose for a 62-yard kickoff return to the Mill Creek 36. Six plays later, Justin Baker scored on an 11-yard run on a 4th-and-1 to push the lead back to 25-7 midway through the third after a 2-point run.
The Buford defense sacked Throgmartin to force another punt, the Hawks' fifth in eight drives, and then Allen struck again. He caught a Raiola pass at the 40 and then outraced the entire Mill Creek defense the other 60 yards for what would be the final score of the game.
Allen, who finished with five catches for 174 yards and 3 TD catches, said it was good to get a measure of revenge against their newest arch-rivals.
“Last year, we fell short of them, so they took the region championship,” he said. “So it's a good feeling knowing we’re going to the playoffs as the No. 1 seed this time.”
Raiola had one of his best games of the season. The junior went 12-of-20 for 216 yards and the 3 TD passes.
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