Buford offensive line gets ‘redemption’ in state title win over Carrollton
Buford’s 28-21 state championship win over Carrollton was full of fireworks.
The Wolves and Trojans traded blows of explosive passes, interceptions and a scoop-and-score at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The play that won the game, though, was much simpler.
That play was an inside zone run to the left. Buford — looking to flip the momentum after Carrollton’s game-tying scoop-and-score — faced a second-and-5 on its own 18-yard line with less than three minutes remaining.
AJC Super 11 selection Tyriq Green took the handoff, faked a move to the left and broke outside the right tackle. He raced 82 yards untouched for what became the game-winning touchdown.
“We’re going to run the ball, that’s Buford football,” Green said. “If you can’t stop it, oh well. It’s done.”
On a crucial second-and-5 with the entire playbook at its disposal, Buford trusted its offensive line to simply win the line of scrimmage. The call was especially bold considering how much the unit had struggled throughout the night.
Buford had zero yards rushing on nine attempts at halftime. The Wolves had just 75 yards on 25 carries before Green’s go-ahead score.
Indeed, it was far from a perfect night for one of Buford’s most talented position groups. The Wolves gave up four sacks, including the catastrophic scoop-and-score halfway through the fourth quarter.
But none of that mattered minutes later when it came time to clinch what is expected to be Buford’s first national championship. The Wolves came back and threw the final haymaker.
“We started to win more in the trenches,” Green said. “Their defensive line started getting tired, and we took over.”
Buford saw evidence of its physicality taking over as the game progressed. Green broke off a 50-yard run on the second play of the second half and cashed a 17-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter.
Strong runs were few and far between, but the Wolves had finally found some footing. The go-ahead touchdown seemed to establish the run game for good, and Green ran for 17 more yards on Buford’s next and final drive to run out the clock.
“We’ve been a second half team the whole playoffs, so nothing really changed,” Buford offensive line coach Matt Winslette said. “The biggest thing was them keeping their composure and knowing that eventually (Carrollton was) going to break and not to get frustrated and upset.”
Winslette also highlighted how much better Buford’s offensive line finished against Carrollton on Tuesday night compared to last season, when the Trojans eliminated the Wolves 30-17 in the semifinals at home.
“We knew by the way the bracket broke down that we were going to have a chance to play them, so this was really redemption for them,” Winslette said. “We weren’t proud of the way that we finished last season, especially in the second half against Carrollton, and they took it to heart.
“For them to be able to do this is just icing on the cake.”
Much like the rest of its roster, Buford’s offensive line was loaded with future college football players. University of Georgia signee Graham Houston and University of Arkansas signee Ben Mubenga led a group of behemoths that slowly hammered away at talented teams like Carrollton all season.
The Wolves rushed for over 100 yards and three touchdowns in 12 of their 15 games this season. The ground game was especially dominant in the last four playoff games, as Buford averaged 203 yards rushing and 3.5 rushing touchdowns during that span.
“We’ve all had the strongest bond on the offensive line,” Houston said. “I was telling them to keep fighting, because I knew they were going to make a run back at it even when we were up a little bit, but we just had to keep putting it in the end zone.”
That bond called for one last offensive line meeting after the game. Winslette kept his message short — he just wanted a picture with his players and the trophy.
“They’ve had enough of me this year,” Winslette said. “It’s no more than just getting a picture with them, a precious memory frozen in time, something they’re going to love for the rest of the lives, and that one moment is enough.”
About the Author
Jack Leo is a sports writer and reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jack worked for the AJC throughout his four years studying journalism and sports media at Georgia State University and the University of Georgia. He's now focused on telling stories in the grassroots: bringing comprehensive coverage of high school sports for AJC Varsity.
