State champ Buford blanks Lovett

After a while, it simply became unfair.

Buford didn’t do anything fancy. The Wolves just played their game, relying on a relentless running game and a suffocating defense. When it was over, Buford had rolled up more than 300 yards rushing and for the third straight time hung a shutout on Lovett, 41-0.

The one-two punch of Cody Getz, a scatback who runs with power, and the more bruising Storm Johnson was too much for the Lions. Getz ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, and Johnson, in a reserve role, ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns, including a 96-yarder in the third quarter. That made it 41-0, and Buford coach Jess Simpson gave the starters the rest of the night off.

“Up front we’re really starting to do some good things,” Simpson said. “Things went well. We had set a mini-goal and we wanted to see what we could do in these first three weeks. I feel like we’re at a great place.”

Simpson said he’ll use their upcoming off week to try to improve. The Wolves had a turnover, but there’s not much to improve upon. Lovett finished with less than 150 total yards of offense and threatened to score only once, but the Lions fumbled at the 5 after a long completion.

Getz said one challenge for the Wolves, No. 1 in Class AA, is to stay humble and not peak too soon.

“Our main focus is always on Buford,” Getz said. “If we play Buford football, we’re going to get it done.”

Lions coach Mike Muschamp lost his fifth consecutive game to the Wolves. Buford beat Lovett (1-2) 50-0 in last year’s state finals.

“The thing about Buford is they just wear you down,” Muschamp said. “Their style of football, they play so hard and with such intensity, and you’ve got to try to match it. And when you don’t, you give up big plays.

“It’s the tradition of the program, the expectations. They’ve tied the past to the present, the present to the future.”

Buford (3-0) scored on its first four possessions and led 20-0 at the half. Getz scored his second and third touchdowns on Buford’s first two possessions of the third period to make it 34-0. Then, pinned on the Buford 4-yard line after the fumble recovery in the third period, Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 202-pound junior, bolted up the middle and cut right before racing down the sideline for the 96-yard score. When he runs north and south, Simpson said, he’s dangerous. “He’s a gifted runner. He’s got a chance to be special,” the coach said.