High School Football
Friday Night Lights Come On
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
High School Football finally kicked off on Friday night. There were several key games from around the area.
Frederica Knights @ Charlton County Indians: The game of the week pitted the defending GISA AAA state champion Frederica Knights against perennial power Charlton County.
The Knights almost knocked off the Indians last season on St. Simons but fell by a touchdown.
This time the Knights headed down to swamp in Folkston and turned the ball over 4 times and could never make that one big play against the Indians defense to get things rolling. Charlton walked away with a 20-7 victory over the Knights.
Rockledge @ Ware County: The Ware County Gators came in with expectations for 2019. However, the Gators dropped their opener at home to Rockledge from Florida 19-7. Rockledge was a 5A semi-finalist in the state Florida last season.
The Jason Strickland era has begun in Ware.
Coffee @ Brunswick: The evening started with the Home Broadcast Booth being dedicated to long time Brunswick High broadcaster, Teddy Bishop. That would be the biggest highlight of the night for Brunswick.
The Coffee County Trojans have dominated the Pirates over the last several years and this game would not end that trend. Coffee went to Glynn County Stadium and put 38 points on the board en route to a 38-21 win over the Pirates.
The Pirates are hoping to rebound from a 3-7 2018 season.
MCA @ Pierce: The MCA Buccaneers scored the first touchdown of the night but it would be the last one they scored. Pierce would score 49 unanswered points to take the win 49-7.
The Bucs did show some signs of improvement. Don’t forget MCA is a rebuilding program.
Camden @ West Forsythe: The Camden County Wildcats beat West Forsythe last season and was hoping for the same result. That result would be accomplished as the Wildcats barraged the Wolverines. The Wildcats put up a touchdown, in what seemed to be every few minutes.
Camden starts off on the right foot downing West Forsythe in impressive fashion 44-6.
Glynn @ Fort Dorchester: The Red Terrors come into the 2019 season with high expectations, but the offense struggled in this contest.
Glynn made the long trip to Charleston, SC and was only able to muster 6 points against Fort Dorchester and went down to the Patriots 31-6.
Camden On The Hunt…Again
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Camden Head Football Coach Bob Sphire enters year three and should start seeing big results from the massive rebuild he started in 2017.
Camden made big strides in year two and have the makings for a fantastic 2019 football season. Look for the Cats to make some noise in Georgia’s highest classification this fall. This is a very good football team folks.
Regular season schedule and my predictions:
08/23 at West Forsyth: Long bus ride for the Cats against a playoff team from last year. Camden won at home last year and they get off to a great start with a 24-17 win over the Wolverines.
08/30 at Wren (Piedmont, SC): Camden plays Wren again in Macon at Mercer University. Camden fell to Wren 25-14 last year, but something tells me that scoreboard will read a little differently this year. The Cats get some redemption by beating Wren 28-17 to go to 2-0 on the season.
09/06 vs Locust Grove: In the home opener for Camden you have Locust Grove rolling in and rolling out with a 35-7 beating. The Cats go to 3-0 on the season.
09/13 vs Richmond Hill: Richmond Hill travels to Chris Gilman Stadium trying to find some offense after losing most of it to graduation. The problem is the offense that graduated only scored 6 on Camden in 2018.
Camden beats down a team that will probably be in their region once the State reclassifies next season. Camden 38-7 to go to 4-0 on the season.
09/20 vs Brunswick: Brunswick High Head Coach, Sean Pender tells me that Camden County is the best team on the Brunswick schedule and that spells trouble for the Pirates. The Cats roll the Pirates 38-20 to go 5-0 on the season.
10/04 at Glynn Academy: The undefeated Cats play the undefeated Terrors at Glynn County Stadium in what should be a great game. Camden will pull out a 24-21 win to go to 6-0 on the season.
10/11 at Colleton County (Walterboro, SC): This one could get ugly in a hurry. Cats win 49-7 to go to 7-0 on the season.
10/18 vs Colquitt County: This will be the biggest home football game in Kingsland in years. The region opener and Colquitt coming in with a new staff, but with top talent.
Could the Cats make a statement here? I think they do and pull out a 24-20 win to go to 8-0 and send a message around the state.
10/25 vs Lowndes: The Vikings roll in for another huge home game for Camden. The Cats go to 2-0 in the region with a hard fought 21-17 win over Lowndes to go to 9-0 and 2-0 in the region.
11/08 at Tift County: The Cats are sky high coming off back to back huge wins at home, and run into a Blue Devil team that has beaten Lowndes and lost to Colquitt in region play.
The Cats fall in a classic 38-34 to go 9-1 and 2-1 in the region. Tift gets great news from Martin Stadium as Lowndes beats Colquitt and Tift wins region championship.
Region 1-AAAAAAA Standings:
Tift: 2-1
Camden: 2-1
Lowndes: 1-2
Colquitt: 1-2
Camden goes 9-1 and finishes with a number #2 playoff seed from region 1.
Opposing Coach View on Camden: “They were down when Bob took that job. Really down. You saw the signs last year that they were starting to get back to being Camden County again.
They have some talent on that football team. Will they get back to what they used to be just a few years ago? I believe they will and are on the right track.
Who will their QB be? They are pretty set everywhere else. I think they have as good of a shot as anyone in their region. They had Lowndes on the ropes at their place last year.
Colquitt has a new coaching staff, and Tift as an at large made it to the third-round last year. They have Colquitt and Lowndes at home. The game at Tift could be for the region championship don’t shake your head because that region is really good and right now with the Colquitt scenario pretty much up for grabs.
Bob is a very good coach and he is in a place where he can win big with the talent pool and resources available.”
Ware Chomping For 2019
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
From 2012-2016, Ware County underwent its best stretch in school history.
During that span, the Gators won four region championships in five seasons and reached a state title game to go along with a semifinal appearance and two trips to the state quarterfinals.
Ware County has remained solid, but the past two years have seen a bit of a tail off. The Gators are hoping that some new coaching blood brings a shot in the arm to the program as Jason Strickland has now set up shop in Waycross.
Strickland’s resume is an impressive one and one that many in South Georgia are already quite familiar with.
Prior to taking the Gators’ head job Strickland notched winning records at Lamar County, Fitzgerald and Pierce County.
He coached four region champions – including at least one at each of his stops – and his next win will be the 100th of his career against just 39 losses to date.
He will inherit a Gator squad that went 8-4 with a second-place finish in Region 2-AAAAA last season.
Ware County took care of everyone it was supposed to, but dropped games to state powers Coffee and Lowndes before falling to Wayne County in the regular season finale to finish second to the Yellow Jackets in region play for a second straight season.
Last year’s Gator squad overachieved with a young roster, meaning that big expectations await this fall.
As far as returning talent goes, Ware County couldn’t ask for more than seeing Thomas Castellanos back in action. Castellanos was a tour de force in his freshman year, winning the starting quarterback job and tossing 11 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
He also led the team with over 800 yards of rushing and even got in on the other end of the passing game, going for 52 yards and a touchdown on his lone reception of the season.
Castellanos will be breaking in a new receiving corps as his top three pass-catchers have departed, but that could be alleviated by an increased emphasis on the ground game. In addition to Castellanos’ ability to run, the Gators return three others who rushed for at least 280 yards in 2018.
Five of the Gators’ top seven tacklers from last year will return to their starting positions and at least one large chunk of the Ware secondary will remain a no-fly zone as Kevin Weatherspoon returns to his safety spot after hauling in five interceptions to go along with six pass deflections and 46 total tackles from a year ago.
Ware County will kick off its season by hosting Rockledge High School out of central Florida. Rematches with larger classification schools Coffee and Lowndes are back on tap and Region 2-AAAAA could easily come down to the final night of the season once again as the Gators play host to Wayne County on Nov. 8.
The Jesup Buzz
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the last two seasons, Wayne County has been the undisputed cream of the Region 2-AAAAA crop.
During that span, the Yellow Jackets have rattled off consecutive region championships with unbeaten marks in region play, as well as a 10-0 regular season campaign last fall and a pair of trips to the second round of the state playoffs.
Some tough losses to graduation and a quartet of region rivals that all appear to be on the upswing will make a region three-peat a tall order, but there’s every reason to count Wayne County as a favorite yet again until another school can prove otherwise.
At the helm for each of the last two seasons has been Ken Cribb, who has done an outstanding job of building the Jackets into a region power when things could have easily gone in a different direction.
The Yellow Jackets reached the state semifinals in 2013 and won a region title in 2014 under Jody Grooms, but the program was thrown into flux when Grooms was charged with theft in 2016. After a year under an interim coach, Cribb took over and immediately found success.
Cribb now faces the challenge of replacing many of the players who have paved the way to success recently. Six starters depart from a defense that was mostly good in 2018, but gave up its share of points.
They’ll be tested early and often as tough non-region games against Richmond Hill and Glynn Academy pop up in the first month.
Offensively, the Jackets can rest a bit easier as dual-threat quarterback Shamar Taylor returns for his senior season. Taylor threw for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall while rushing for 247 yards and three more touchdowns.
However, Taylor will have to once again be a star as there is plenty of production left to fill in around him.
Running back and 1,000-yard rusher M.J. Fuller is gone from 2018 and Kaliz Hadley is the only Jacket other than Taylor with more than 200 rushing yards back on the roster in 2019.
Primary receiving target Ashby Cribb (60 catches, 748 yards, 5 TD last season) is also gone, leaving Hadley and Trevin Wallace as the only returners to put up considerable receiving numbers last year.
It will be hard for the Yellow Jackets to duplicate the 32.7 points per game that they averaged during the 2018 regular season, but if new faces are able to step up there should still be plenty of scoring in Jesup.
Back To Back?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Let me go on record and say I have always respected Frederica Academy Head Football coach Brandon Derrick for his coaching abilities, but I have a new found respect for the man because he is an educator of young people to prepare them for life.
The man teaches 5 classes a day and I’m not talking PE classes, I’m talking college prep World History and Government courses on top of his role as head football coach.
The man’s plate is full and he has a passion for developing young people which is evident when you talk to him.
As for the 2019 football season the defending state champs have some big shoes to fill with departures.
But the coach says “I feel pretty good about the experience we have returning this fall. We played a lot of kids last year and we’ll be solid on the lines of scrimmage, running back and linebacker. We have Denver Anthony, Deke Jernigan, who are really good players coming back and we just need to stay consistent because we know what it takes to win and that is an intangible that mentally we have over other programs”.
Schedule/My Predictions:
08/23 at Charlton County: The Knights let the Indians off the hook on St. Simons last fall. Charlton has a new head coach. I have said all off season that I didn’t think Frederica would go down to Folkston and win. I have changed my mind Frederica beats Charlton 21-20 to go 1-0 on the season.
08/30 at Valwood: Frederica continues the brutal road slate with a trip to Valdosta to play a loaded Valwood team that has stocked the roster with Valdosta and Lowndes players that entered the transfer portal.
I think you get my drift here. This will be a tall task for the Knights and they fall early in the season 34-22 to Valwood to go 1-1 on the season. These teams will probably meet up again in the GISA State Playoffs.
09/06 vs Tiftarea Academy: The Panthers, a final four team in 2018, roll into St. Simons probably ranked in the top 5 in State.
The opening three games are brutal for the Knights. Frederica wins their home opener 28-24 to end this brutal opening stretch 2-1.
09/13 at Bethlehem Christian Academy: The Knights hung 62 on Bethlehem last season and will hang 50 on them in 2019. Knights 52-12 to go to 3-1 on the season.
09/20 vs Augusta Prep Day: Frederica dominates Augusta Prep 49-7 to go to 4-1 on the season.
10/04 vs Pinewood Christian: Will Pinewood be much improved in 2019? Maybe, but not that much improved. Frederica rolls 35-20 to go to 5-1 on the season.
10/11 at Westfield: This trip to Perry worries me for the Knights. Westfield is said to be improved in 2019. Westfield was a playoff team last season. Knights pull out a win late 24-21 to go to 6-1 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
10/18 at Trinity Christian: Trap game in Dublin for the Knights. The Crusaders went 7-5 in 2018. Frederica can’t get caught looking ahead to JMA and Bulloch. Frederica struggles, but wins an ugly 14-7 to go to 7-1 and set up a region title showdown with Bulloch Academy in two weeks.
11/01 at John Milledge Academy: Knights travel for the third straight week to Milledgeville to play the team many are picking to win the State Title in 2019.
The Knights blew out John Milledge for the title in 2018. JMA handles the Knights 28-21. Frederica drops to 7-2 on the season.
11/08 vs Bulloch Academy: Rivalry game. An angry set of Knights coming off a tough loss rebound and handle Bulloch Academy easy 31-10.
Not much love between Frederica and Bulloch Academy. Frederica wins another region championship and finishes 8-2 on the season.
Opposing Team view on Frederica: “I thought the Anthony kid was the best player on the field when we played them last year. They flat out put one on us, and we have them circled this year.
Brandon has done a fantastic job there, but I wonder about their feeder system and how long they can keep that thing going over there.
They won a State Championship last year and you have to think they will take a step back this year. That road schedule is brutal.
They will be battle tested and will be a tough out in the playoffs because of the winning culture they have there. This is one of the better GISA programs in the state. They have tremendous financial support there.”
Barring key injuries this team can make another deep playoff run.
Return To Glory In 2019?
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For a program with one of the most storied traditions in all of Georgia high school football, the last handful of seasons have been some to forget for Statesboro High.
From 1999-2013, the Blue Devils posted a winning mark every year, while racking up six region titles and two of the school’s five state championships. That all came to a drastic halt in 2014, as the team posted consecutive 2-8 seasons before bottoming out during a winless 2016.
Jeff Kaiser took the reins of the program in 2017 and has been slow but steady in the rebuilding project. Last season marked a big milestone for the Devils as – despite a 4-6 record in the regular season – they were able to clinch a spot in the state playoffs for the first time since 2013.
But for a program with awards and banners dominating most of the school’s trophy case, simply being competitive again isn’t good enough. And the 2019 Blue Devils know that there is much more work to be done.
While Statesboro has moved away from its former identity of a wishbone offense that runs 95 percent of the time and tries to overpower each opponent, the ability to move the ball on the ground is still central to the team’s success.
After years of battling turnover and inexperience in the backfield, Statesboro has plenty to feel confident about in its running game this season. Jaylon Roberson emerged as a star running back two seasons ago, but was pressed into emergency quarterback duty for the final half of the season. He resumed his stellar rushing career last year and will be featured heavily in his senior season.
Roberson was the only runner locked into a starting role at the beginning of 2018, but will be joined this season by fellow seniors Devardrion Lipsey and Corey McCullough.
It was Lipsey’s ability to find the corner and McCullough’s bruising inside running that created a more balanced – and more dangerous – SHS rushing attack by the end of 2018.
Calling the shots under center for a second straight year will be Drake Horton, although the senior quarterback will be without his top two wide receivers from last season.
The SHS defense carried the team early on in 2018, but a tough schedule and mounting injuries kept it from being as effective in the second half of the season.
The Devils return the teeth of what was a very good defensive secondary last season. Graduation claimed some of the front seven, but senior defensive linemen Dake Williams and Xavier Lee figure to hold up the front while experience is gained through the rest of the defensive depth chart.
Statesboro once again finds itself in a five-team region, meaning that the last month will consist of all of its region games for an all-out sprint to state playoff eligibility.
Wayne and Ware County once again figure to be the powers in the region, with Statesboro looking to repeat last year’s victories over South Effingham and New Hampstead for a repeat trip to the postseason.
No Time To Be Blue
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Marietta High School is not a traditional football powerhouse. They have one state championship and that is from 1967. Recently they have been in the news for the wrong reasons.
The Blue Devils had a great year in 2017, finishing the regular season 8-2. They were forced to forfeit all of their eight wins after an investigation by the Georgia High School Association determined two of the players were ineligible.
The program also got a $1,500 fine and was placed on “severe warning status” for the 2018 season.
Marietta began the 2018 season ranked in the top 25 nationally of multiple national polls and No. 1 in Georgia’s Class AAAAAAA.
Marietta’s star quarterback and wide receiver were lost to injury late in the season, and two other Division I recruits never took the field, declared ineligible by the GHSA in preseason.
Marietta finished 5-6 and unranked.
“Our season ended in a disappointing way,” Marietta coach Richard Morgan said. “But the way they came back to work, instead of sulking, showed me we’ve got a shot to be really good. Based on the work ethic I’ve seen in the off season and the commitment and dedication; I’ve got real high expectations for this team.”
On paper, this is the most talented team in the state. The 2019 Blue Devils have nine seniors ranked among the top 100 prospects in Georgia. No other Georgia school in the highest classification has more than four.
Tight end Arik Gilbert, who had 88 catches for 1,210 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, is a five-star recruit.
Quarterback Harrison Bailey, defensive end/tackle B.J. Ojulari, tackle Jake Wray and defensive back Rashad Torrence are consensus four-star prospects.
Running back Kimani Vidal, defensive back Dawson Ellington and wide receivers Taji Johnson and Kobi Stewart all have offers from ACC and SEC schools.
How confident are they? On the school’s website they have all playoff dates including the state championship listed on their schedule.
The Blue Devils start the season August 22 on the road at Rome. The Wolves had their 40-game win streak snapped in the 5A semifinals. They are a good team but I expect a talented 7A team like Marietta to win.
St. Joseph’s (PA) comes to town the next week. I don’t know anything about them but I give the edge to Marietta.
The next two weeks are on the road against Gwinnett County teams. They play Collins Hill and Grayson.
Collins Hill struggled last season so this should be an easy win. Grayson on the other hand will be a tough game. The Rams advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2018. Their head coach resigned at the end of the season so having a new coach might put them at a disadvantage.
After a bye week, the last non-region game is against Edgewater (FL). The Eagles were 12-2 last year and advanced to the Class 7A state semifinal. This game could go either way.
The first region game is at North Paulding and this is an easy win.
That is followed by a rivalry game versus McEachern. The Indians are always one of the best teams in Cobb County and anything can happen when rivals play. This is too close to call.
The toughest remaining game is against last season’s region 3-AAAAAAA champion, Hillgrove. The Hawks are playing on the road and Marietta wants revenge. They lost in 2018 48-24. The Blue Devils will get revenge.
Marietta has so much talent that I expect them to advance to the state championship at the very least.
Glynn Set To Terrorize 2019
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When I sat down with Glynn head coach Rocky Hidalgo a few weeks ago he said the following: “The 2019 edition of Red Terror football will be exciting. Who plays a tougher non-region schedule than us? We are going to be a good football team”.
That about sums it up for the Glynn Academy faithful. This team is solid across the board and the clear favorite in Region 2-AAAAAA this fall. The Wayne, Ware, and Camden games will have this team peaking by region play in October.
My Regular Season Prediction: 9-1
Game by Game Predictions:
8/23 @ Fort Dorchester SC: The Red Terrors travel to the Charleston area and play a seasoned South Carolina playoff team. Fort Dorchester beat GA on the field in 2018 but had to forfeit the win later.
Glynn sets the tone early in this one with the power run game and wins a tough one on the road 31-21.
8/30 vs Washington: GA blows out this team 49-7, and everyone in the program plays in the contest. Glynn goes to 2-0 on the season.
9/6 @ Groves: Glynn could beat Groves 80-0 if they wanted to do so. Coach Rock calls off the Terrors midway through the second quarter as GA hammers Groves 56-6. The Red Terrors go to 3-0 on the season.
9/20 vs Wayne County: The Jackets beat Glynn in Jaycee Stadium last year, but the 35-mile trip to Glynn County Stadium won’t be kind to the Jackets in 2019.
The Red Terrors physically whip Wayne and win a 28-14 ball game to go to 4-0 on the season. By this point Glynn should be ranked in the top 3-4 teams statewide in 6A.
9/27 vs Ware County: This will be a huge one between the bricks. Quote me later on this “no first-year coach is coming to Brunswick and beating Rocky Hidalgo and Glynn”. Glynn beats the Gators 24-17 to go to 5-0 on the season.
10/4 vs Camden: Camden is going to be really good in 2019. I think the 7A Cats with more depth than Glynn win a tough 24-21 contest on the road. Glynn drops to 5-1 on the season.
10/18 @ Richmond Hill: The Wildcats should be good on defense but can they contain Glynn enough and score enough points to win?
The answer is no, as Glynn goes to 6-1 with a 30-14 win over Richmond Hill.
10/25 vs Brunswick: Glynn owns the town and series at the moment. Brunswick will be improved but not enough.
The Red Terrors win the sixth straight game in the series 27-20 to go to 7-1 on the season.
11/1 @ Effingham: Effingham can’t match Glynn on the line of scrimmage and GA rolls into Springfield and clinches a fifth straight region title 35-10.
The Red Terrors go to 8-1 on the season.
11/8 vs. Bradwell: The Terrors roll over the Tigers 42-7, and enter the state playoffs as a number one seed from region two at 9-1 on the season.
Opposing Coach View on Glynn: “Rocky has built a solid program from the inside out down there. They are always going to be solid on defense, and how far they go depends on how far the QB position takes them.”
They have a good chance to make a run this year and when I say run, I mean final 4 or championship game. They play a great schedule that gets them peaking come region and playoff time.
Camden should be getting close to being the Camden we all know again so watch that game to get a gauge on where Glynn is.
Outside of Benedictine this has been the best program in Southeast Georgia for past 4-5 seasons. They have tough kids who have bought into what they are teaching down there. This is a good high school football program. They have been close a couple of times there.
That 2015 team was better than the team they lost to in the dome, and that 2017 team was peaking and the wheels fell off late at Lee County. This 2019 team has the potential to be better that both.”
Look for Glynn to make a deep playoff run in 2019.
Gators Look To Chomp on 2019
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2018 season was the best in recent memory for the Gators of Bulloch Academy.
An 8-2 record and a second-place finish in region action was solid in its own right, but the Gators took things a step farther in winning their first state playoff game since 2009.
In fact, Bulloch Academy could have gone even farther if not for how its schedule played out. The Gators lost a non-region contest to John Milledge Academy and missed out on a region title when they dropped a close one against Frederica.
Those turned out to be possibly the only teams that could handle Bulloch last season as the Gators made it to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by John Milledge, which advanced to the state championship game before falling to Frederica.
All of that came in the first season with Pat Collins running the ship for BA. Collins has been the school’s athletic director for two seasons, but stepped into the football head coaching role – a title he has previously held at Portal, Screven County and Southeast Bulloch – during the spring of 2018.
He has seen success wherever he’s gone and while he usually inherits a rebuilding squad, he now has the task of continuing to build on an impressive debut.
“We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us,” Collins said. “We lost 12 seniors, a three-year starting quarterback and 98 percent of our offensive yards from last year. That’s a lot to replace, but we’ve got eight rising seniors who are stepping up and I think we can be a good team again this season.”
Fischer Oglesby is the heir to the quarterback spot vacated by Don Aaron. And while Collins admits that nothing can replace Aaron’s experience, Oglesby has more size and speed that will fit well in the Gators’ offense that showcases plenty of option, with the ability to take long shots down the field.
While the offense settles into an entirely new backfield, it will be the defense that Bulloch relies on early in the season.
Eight starters return, giving Collins hope that his thoughts on the gravity of experience translate into a shutdown defensive unit.
Perhaps the biggest edge Bulloch can take into 2019 is its depth. Not only did plenty of underclassmen get quality playing time last season – including a JV squad that went undefeated in its abbreviated schedule – but the numbers continue to creep up on the roster in general.
The Gators figure to have at least 40 – and possibly 45 – players in uniform to open the season. That’s up from the normal roster of 30-ish Gators from just a few years ago and will allow the team to avoid too many instances of two-way players that can become an issue late in the season as fatigue mounts.
Bulloch will once again kick off its season against arch-rival Pinewood as part of the Erk Russell Classic at Paulson Stadium on the campus of Georgia Southern University.
The Gators will face familiar non-region foes – including Westfield and a rematch with John Milledge – early in the season before playing the entirety of its Region 2-AAA schedule over the final four weeks of the regular season.
Wolves On The Hunt
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Buford High School has been a powerhouse for quite some time.
The Wolves won their first state title in 1978. Then starting in 2001, they won 10 state championships with the last one in 2014. They advanced to the state final 2015 and 2016 and lost close games.
They are trying to get back on track and prove they are the best team in 5A.
John Ford took the top job at Buford in 2017 after coaching Roswell to a 14-1 season and a 23-20 loss to Grayson in the class 7A championship game.
After two seasons, he resigned. He went 21-5 in two years as head coach, taking both teams deep into the state playoffs.
Ford led Buford to last year’s state quarterfinals, where they were upset, 23-20, by Bainbridge. That was the program’s first Elite Eight loss since 2006. That loss ended Buford’s state-record 35-game winning streak in home playoff games.
The Wolves won the Region 8-AAAAA championship and lost in the regular season to Class AAAAAAA semifinalist Archer and to Florida power Deerfield Beach.
They also won the region championship in 2017 and reached the state semifinals with an 11-2 record. That season ended with a rough 45-7 loss to Rome.
Buford promoted defensive coordinator Bryant Appling to head football coach. Appling has been on Buford’s staff the past 15 years through seven state titles and five runner-up finishes. He was an assistant for two seasons at Lithonia before coming to Buford.
The Wolves are ranked No.5 in the state in the 5A preseason poll. They have a lot of talent on the team. Corner back Jalen Huff is the highest ranked recruit on the team. He is the 53rd ranked player in the state and he’s a Georgia Tech commit. Huff is a bigger corner, listed as 6’0.
Center Seth McLaughlin is 6’4, 270 pounds. He’s ranked as the tenth best center in the nation and he committed to Alabama.
Willie ‘T’ Lee is listed as an athlete and he plays wide receiver and cornerback. He is a three-star recruit and an Arizona State commit. Lee is 5’11 so he also has good size for the position.
Running back Elijah Turner is also a three-star recruit.
The season opens August 23rd in the Corky Kell Classic at Coolray Field. They play Milton, the defending 7A state champs. Milton lost a lot of talent from last year’s team so I think this will be a very close game.
The next week is home against Jonesboro and that will be an easy win. Last season Buford beat the Cardinals 58 – 7.
Life Christian Academy from Virginia comes to town after a bye week for Buford. They were 2-6 last season so this will be another easy win.
Newton, another 7A opponent comes to town. Buford beat them 54 – 27 in 2018 and I expect more of the same.
They play a better 7A team September 27th when Archer comes to town. The Tigers beat up on Buford last year, 48 – 24. I think the game should be closer but I expect Archer to win.
They begin region play October 4th and Buford will slaughter these teams. Last season they beat all five region 8 AAAAA opponents and scored 253 points while only giving up 9 points.
I know they’ll make it to the playoffs but can they get over the hump and win another championship? That is the burning question.
