Buford dominates Marist, heads to 8th straight semifinal

BUFORD -- It was one of the most anticipated matchups of the quarterfinals in any classification Friday night.<br /> <br /> However, Buford turned its Class AAAA battle with Marist into a showcase of what the rest of the field can expect.<br /> <br /> The Wolves defense stuffed the War Eagles' vaunted ground game for the final three quarters to spark a 30-6 win at Tom Riden Stadium.<br /> <br /> The win moves Buford (13-0) into the semifinals for the eighth straight season. It stopped the War Eagles run to the semifinals at two straight.<br /> <br /> The Wolves will take on Cartersville on the road next week with a trip to the Georgia Dome on the line (the Purple Hurricanes won a coin flip to host the contest).<br /> <br /> Marist (11-2) came in averaging over 300 yards rushing behind its traditional option attack. The War Eagles managed 44 yards on the ground their first drive but just 60 the rest of the way.<br /> <br /> The Buford offense was nothing if not efficient. The War Eagles clamped down on the Buford ground game but could not contain the Wolves passing attack.<br /> <br /> Senior quarterback Luke Humphrey and junior Isaac Nauta connected on several key big plays throughout the game to keep the Marist defense, which came in as the No. 3 unit in Class AAAA, off balance. Buford finished with 143 yards rushing, far below its nearly 300 yards a game average, but Humphrey was 6-of-11 for 174 yards and one touchdown.<br /> <br /> "We knew they would stack the line and we felt like we could throw over the top in certain situations," said Nauta, who set up one score with a 44-yard catch, and capped the Wolves' scoring with a 23-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter and finished with 97 yards on just three receptions. "I've been playing most of the year with a broken foot and I'm finally getting healthy. It feels great to beat a team the caliber of Marist."<br /> <br /> Buford coach Jess Simpson said it was one of their most complete games of the season.<br /> <br /> "All three phases," he said."Except for one throw Luke played tremendous; the defense was outstanding all game; and special teams came up big for us several times. Marist is a great team but I thought we came ready to play."<br /> <br /> It started both great and horrible for Buford, though. Evyn Cooper returned the opening kickoff 52-yards to the Marist 47. But Humphrey was picked off on the first play and the War Eagles took the quick advantage.<br /> <br /> Marist used 10 running plays to drive to the Wolves 8 but stalled and settled for a 25-yard field goal by Joey Gogol with 6:07 left in the first quarter. It was the first time Buford had trailed in a game since falling behind to McEachern in the third game of the season.<br /> <br /> The Wolves next possession was a quick three-and-out and it looked like they were in for a dogfight. But the Buford defense dominated the rest of the way.<br /> <br /> The Wolves forced three punts over the next four possessions, sacked Marist quarterback Sam Phelps three times, and snuffed out a halfback pass for a 9-yard loss on the War Eagles second possession to help jump start the offense.<br /> <br /> After the big loss on the attempted halfback pass, the Buford offense drove 63-yards in nine plays, capped by the first of Josh Thomas's three second quarter scores.<br /> <br /> After another three-and-out by Marist, Buford gambled on a 4th-and-2 at the War Eagles 48 and Thomas popped through a hole and went untouched for a 48-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead.<br /> <br /> The Wolves used some trickeration next, with Matt Bonadies recovering his own onsides kick at the Marist 49 and then they needed just four plays to push the lead to 21-3 with 5:42 left in the half on Thomas's third TD run of the quarter. The big play was a 44-yard pass from Humphrey to Nauta to the Marist 5 on the first play after the kickoff.<br /> <br /> Marist answered with an 85-yard kickoff return by Griffin King to the Buford 18 leading to a 30-yard field goal by Gogol with 3:48 left in the half. The War Eagles would not get into Buford territory again until late in the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> The Wolves would get two more chances to add on before the half but Bonadies could not connect on 39-yard and 45-yard field goals late.<br /> <br /> Thomas would finish with 77 yards on 13 carries to pace Buford on the ground.<br /> <br /> Phelps was held to just 29 yards on 17 carries. Ian Gipson had 42 yards to lead the War Eagles. They came into the game with more than 1,600 yards combined on the season.<br /> <br /> <b>SCORING SUMMARY</b><br /> <b>Marist</b>......3....3....0....0 -- 6<br /> <b>Buford</b>.....0...21....2....7 -- 30<br /> <br /> <b>First Quarter</b><br /> MAR -- Gogol 25 FG 3-0, 6:07<br /> <br /> <b>Second Quarter</b><br /> BUF -- Thomas 1 run (Bonadies kick) 7-3, 11:13<br /> BUF -- Thomas 48 run (Bonadies kick) 14-3, 7:09<br /> BUF -- Thomas 1 run (Bonadies kick) 21-3, 5:42<br /> MAR -- Gogol 30 FG 21-6, 3:48<br /> <br /> <b>Third Quarter</b><br /> BUF -- Safety 23-3, 2:51<br /> <br /> <b>Fourth Quarter</b><br /> BUF -- Nauta 23 pass from Humphrey (Bonadies kick) 30-6, 11:14<br /> <br /> NOTES: The win pushed Buford's win streak to 38 games, which is the sixth-longest in GHSA history. ... It was just the second time all season Marist had allowed more than 20 points in a game. ... Buford came in as the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense in Class AAAA and is sure to hold onto both spots after Friday.