Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo: David McGregor Buford's Montgomery VanGorder tries to shake off a Fannin County defender tackle during the Wolves' 51-0 victory over the Rebels on Friday night in Buford.

BUFORD -- After receiving the news that they would have to forfeit two region victories early this week the Buford Wolves had to reset their immediate goals for the season.

They knew they were all but out of the running for the Region 7-AAA title and would now have to win their three remaining games to potentially enter the playoffs as the second seed. They got off to a flying start in their quest to make that happen Friday night with a dominating 51-0 win over Fannin Co.

Buford head coach Jess Simpson was extremely pleased with the way his team has responded to so much recent adversity. "These kids have been handed so much adversity this year and this week was no exception," Simpson said. "I just have to tip my hat to the seniors. It's an incredible group of kids and I don't know if there are a lot of people that could endure what they've endured whether it's heartache or the unfortunate that happened with us this week with the eligibility situation. They've really bought into the idea that we are going to take care of what we can control and what happened in the past is done and there's nothing we can do to change it."

The Wolves (5-3, 3-2 Region 7-AAA) came out on fire scoring on every possession in the first half and on the first play of three of those drives. The first of those came on Buford's first play on offense when Quinn Davis had a 58-yard touchdown run. The other scoring drives didn't take much longer as they were three-, five-, and four-play possessions that allowed the Wolves to have a commanding 44-0 lead of the Rebels (1-7, 1-4 Region 7-AAA) at halftime.

The Buford defense only allowed 62 yards of total offense and three first downs the entire game for Fannin County and the Rebels were never able to make it across midfield against the Wolves.

Both Buford quarterbacks Taylor Mitchell and Montgomery VanGorder were perfect on the night despite not having to put the ball in the air frequently. Mitchell had three completions for 64 yards and VanGorder completed all four of his attempts for 63 yards.

With its remaining games carrying a little more importance now Simpson feels his team is ready to get where they ultimately want to be.

"I've got a feeling they may do something special down the stretch. I'm hoping that's the case but I really like what we're doing," Simpson said.