Buford pulls away from Dublin

It wasn’t quite last year’s 48-point drubbing, but Buford’s 44-10 quarterfinal victory Friday over visiting Dublin at Tom Riden Stadium was nearly as lopsided.

The defending Class AA champion Wolves, who shut out the Fighting Irish in last season’s semifinals at the Georgia Dome, are 3-0 against their central Georgia foes and advanced to next week’s semifinal at home against Fitzgerald. The win was the Wolves’ 28th in a row since a 26-7 loss to Charlton County in the 2006 quarterfinals and puts them two victories away from their sixth state championship and fifth this decade.

“I’d take a one-point win,” Wolves coach Jess Simpson said before kickoff, sensing Dublin was much revived from last year. “This is real football from here on out. We tell our guys it’s for men only from here.”

Buford stretched a 10-10 tie into a rout with four rushing touchdowns and two field goals, barely missing the average of 47 points. The Wolves have outscored three playoff opponents 144-38.

Storm Johnson’s two touchdown runs, Cody Getz’s second scoring rush and Daniel Villafuerte’s third field goal — all in the second half — put the game out of reach. Josh Rudnik’s interception return from the Wolves’ 6-yard line to their 42 in the third quarter and Jake Vaverka’s fumble recovery at Dublin’s 28 with 10:46 left typified Buford’s opportunistic play that shut out five consecutive opponents at one point this season and allowed only five to score in double digits.

The Wolves (13-0) raced to a 10-0 lead on Villafuerte’s 43-yard field goal and Getz’s 18-yard run, but the Irish (11-2) tied with Rashard Smith’s 22-yard scoring pass to Chris Smith and Briceton Cannada’s 20-yard field goal 10:31 before halftime.

Buford showed why it’s reached the playoffs 10 straight times and at least the quarterfinals nine times. Quarterback Michael May put Buford ahead with a 22-yard run 4:44 before halftime, and Villafuerte gave the Wolves a 20-10 advantage with a 34-yard field goal.