TIFTON — When reflecting on the top teams in Class AA football, the team that immediately comes to mind are the Buford Wolves.
After moving from Class A to AA after the 2001 season — a season in which the Wolves won the Class A championship — Buford kept on winning, and winning, and winning.
From Aug. 2001 until Sept. 2004, Buford rolled up a 47-game winning streak, the longest in modern-day, Georgia high school history.
The Wolves have been Gwinnett County’s shining star for a decade, winning more games than Brookwood, more championships than Parkview, and defeating powerful Class AA teams along the way.
Three times, Buford has ended Dublin High’s football season. The Wolves defeated the Irish in the semifinals at the Georgia Dome in 2004 by a 28-24 score, and last season in a 48-0 thrashing.
Last week, Buford routed Dublin once again at home, 44-10.
The playoff rivalry with Charlton County has been much closer, however.
The Wolves and Indians have met every year in the playoffs, beginning in 2003. The Wolves, led by future Notre Dame star Darius Walker, outclassed Charlton and record setting quarterback Jeremy Privett by a 31-3 score in the 2003 Class AA final.
The next season saw Charlton exact a measure of revenge on Buford, defeating the Wolves at Tom Riden Stadium in Buford, 35-20.
In 2005 and 2006, Charlton ended Buford’s season in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs, and last season the Wolves defeated the Indians in a quarterfinal game.
The series is tied at 3-3, with Buford winning the opening game of the rivalry by a 7-6 margin in the Class A championship game in 1978.
Since 2002, the Class AA champion has come from the triumvirate of Buford, Charlton County, and Dublin.
The Wolves have an impressive record of 123-6 since the turn of the century — an average of 13.7 wins per season.
While Fitzgerald does not boast the wins or the championships of Buford, the Purple Hurricane have been one of the best teams in Class AA to not win a championship.
Since 2000, the Hurricanes have an impressive record of 93-19-1, with two state semifinal appearances, and one state runner up finish in 2000.
Fitzgerald and Buford have never met on the gridiron.
Last week, Buford simply ran away from Dublin after an early 10-10 tie in the second quarter. From there, the Wolves outscored the Irish 34-0, with quarterback Michael May scoring on a 22-yard run with 4:44 left before halftime.
Cody Getz scored two touchdowns, and Storm Johnson also scored two touchdowns to put the Wolves in the semifinals for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.
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