By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Buford High School has been a football powerhouse since the turn of the century. The Wolves have won 11 state championships, 10 of them from 2001 to 2014. During that stretch, there were three different three-peats.

For a program of this caliber, not winning a championship since 2014 is a long drought. In 2017 they went 11-2 and lost to Rome in the AAAAA state semifinals 45-7.

Buford has produced several Division 1 prospects over the years and this season will be no different. Center Harry Miller is the No. 8 ranked player in the state of Georgia. He’s 6’4, 310 pounds so he has great size and he verbally committed to Ohio State.

Running back Derrian Brown is a four-star recruit and the 24^th ranked player in the state. He received 34 offers from major programs like Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, LSU, Notre Dame, Georgia, Arkansas, Penn State and Florida.

Last year as a junior, he shared carries with Anthony Grant (Florida State) and Christian Turner (Michigan), who have both graduated and gone to the next level. Brown ran for 844 yards on 94 carries, which translates to 8.9 yards per carry. He will be the featured back this season so expect his numbers to be drastically better.

“He’s just becoming a complete back,” head coach John Ford said at the Corky Kell 7-on-7 tournament. “He can run with power, he can run with vision. He can run with patience. He’s doing some things in the passing game where he’ll be a threat in that too.”

The Wolves lost to Corky Kell champion Marietta in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Buford features another top 50 state recruit, guard Riley Simonds. He’s a three-star recruit and verbally committed to Florida.

They typically play a very difficult schedule and this year is no different. The season kicks off August 17^th against Tucker in the Corky Kell Classic. The game will be played at Georgia State Stadium, formerly Turner Field. The Tigers are an elite 6A program so this should be a very competitive game. Tucker also has a star player, defensive end Derrick McLendon has committed to Florida State.

The following week is at home against Jonesboro. This will be an easy win.

Deerfield Beach (FL) comes to town August 31^st. The Bucks were 8-3 last season so they should be pretty good in 2018. I still give the advantage to the Wolves.

After a bye week they face Newton at home. The Wolves will destroy Newton by 40-50 points.

September 21^st is a huge match up in Lawrenceville at Archer. The Tigers are a 7A school with a ton of talent. They have stars like Andrew Booth, he’s a five-star corner back and the No. 6 player in the state.

They also have three-star players like Safety Jalyn Phillips and wide receiver Braylen Weems. I expect Archer to win but the game should be close.

Johnson (Gainesville) comes to Buford after that and region play begins. Buford beat the Knights 70-0 last season and I expect a similar result.

The Wolves then travel to Athens to play Cedar Shoals. They beat them 56-0 in 2017 and we can expect more of the same.

The final three games are at Loganville, Walnut Grove and Clarke Central. The combined scores against these 3 opponents last year was 136-7. These will all be huge blowouts again.

Buford will make the playoffs and compete for another state title. I’m not sure if they have what it takes to overtake Rome but we will see.