It’s been 25 years since North Gwinnett and Buford have met on the football field.
It’s an old rivalry that has gotten lost over time with changes in classifications and is one the younger generation has never experienced.
Buford head coach Bryant Appling said his phone was exploding after the news that the two northern Gwinnett schools would finally meet again.
“A bunch of old school people were sending me messages like, ‘Hey, man, this fun. This is real. Can't wait to see it. This is what our record was against them.’ So it has its highlights because of the old-school rivalry type deal. They're seven miles away, and it's the first time we played them forever. So, it has that backyard rivalry type feel to it.”
North Gwinnett will travel to Tom Riden Stadium for the first time since 1998 in the Class 6A quarterfinals on Friday. The Bulldogs won that game, 21-6, one of their five wins in the 28-game series. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on AM 550 WDUN.
The Wolves' wake-up call this season came on Aug. 23 against Benedictine at home. It was a week after the Wolves fell at Class 5A top-ranked Milton, 13-10 on the road. The Wolves rallied from a 21-13 third-quarter deficit to win the game 29-28. Since then, they have averaged 44.4 ppg, given up 8.2, and won by an average of 36.3 ppg.
“I think we’ve grown all year long,” Appling said. “They’ve bought into the process, and after the first couple of games, we said, ‘hey, it’s clear cut. We’ve got to improve in these areas.’ The kids took that to heart and found a way to get better.”
As good as those stats are, the Wolves will face big, physical North Gwinnett on Friday, which brings a defense capable of forcing turnovers and making plays in the backfield.
“They’re big and fast,” Appling said. “They're big up front on both sides of the ball, fast on the edges and long. It's probably the best-sized team we've seen all year … I’d say it is comparable to Douglas County but probably bigger in a lot of positions than Douglas County was. It’s going to be a challenge. They're well-coached, play hard, and have some pride about them. So, it will be a fight, pretty much from the first to the last whistle.”
Caleb Hutchins contributed to this article.
NORTH GWINNETT at BUFORD
Records: Bulldogs (12-0, Region 7, Seed 1); Wolves (11-1, R8, S1)
Last week: North Gwinnett beat Newton, 24-10; Buford beat Lowndes, 42-7
Where: Tom Riden Stadium, Buford
Radio: WDUN AM 550
Time: 7:30 p.m.
The Statisticals: It’s the first meeting since 1999. Buford leads the series 22-5-1 and beat the Bulldogs, 26-7 on Sept. 10, 1999. North Gwinnett’s last win in the series came at Tom Riden Stadium in 1998, a 21-6 victory. Buford left no questions, dominating Lowndes County 42-7 to advance. Newton gave the Bulldogs all they could handle last week and were only down 17-10 after the third quarter. The Bulldogs scored a TD in the fourth to preserve the win. Buford is seeking their first trip out of the quarterfinals since the 2021 season, the last time the Wolves won the state championship … North Gwinnett is looking for its first trip to the semifinals since 2019. This could be a game of which defense cracks first, as both teams held their opponents 30 points under their average last week. The Wolves normally have the edge on talent, but this game features Power 4 talent on both sides of the ball.
What to watch for: Which defense cracks first? With both teams scoring an average of over 38 points per game and both defenses playing well, something has to give … The Wolves are giving up just over 10 ppg, while the Bulldogs have given up 12. The Bulldogs' defensive stats are impressive, racking up 188 tackles for a loss, 47 sacks, 91 QB hurries, forced 19 interceptions and 11 fumbles. On the flip side, the Wolves' stats are pretty good as well, posting 68 tackles for the loss, 26 sacks, 62 QB hurries, 12 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles … Offensively, the Bulldogs favor the rushing attack, with three running backs with 200 or more rushing yards this season, including leading rusher Tommy Lafayette (121-788 yards and 11 TDs) … the Wolves also favor the rushing attack with four backs rushing over 400 yards, led by Justin Baker (93-889 yards, 11 TDs), and Ethan Ervin (79-650 yards, 6 TDs) … and both QBs Buford’s Dayton Raiola (96-for-165, 1,717 yards, 18 TDs, 3 INT) and North Gwinnett’s Ryan Hall (127-for-198, 1,851 yards, 24 TDs, 3 INT) can make plays downfield…
