The Buford Wolves showcased a strong offensive performance while the defense held Cedar Grove in check for a 41-27 victory Friday night at Tom Riden Stadium in Buford.

Buford (8-3) got contributions from multiple players as the offense rolled up 470 yards, 285 of that coming on the ground. The rushing attack helped the Wolves keep the Saints’ prolific offensive attack on the sidelines.

Buford takes on North Oconee in the second round next Friday.

The defense of Buford also stood strong despite facing one of the prolific passers in Georgia high school football history in Cedar Grove quarterback and Vanderbilt recruit Johnathan McCrary.

"Man, what a battle. I’m really proud of our kids," Buford coach Jess Simpson said. "They have got a heck of a team and a lot of explosive players. We had to fight through adversity and injury. It seemed like we played 50 kids tonight."

McCrary was held in check in the first half as he had only 39 passing yards. The Saints (6-5) actually had more success running the ball in the first half, but the story of the night was the Buford offense.

After receiving the opening kickoff, it took Buford only four plays to get on the scoreboard. Zavior Hoxie broke off a 42-yard run down the left sideline to the Cedar Grove 43-yard line. On the following play, Taylor Mitchell found tight end Mikey Bart open in the flat and he carried the ball to the Saints 2-yard line. Hoxie did the rest, taking it in for the first Buford touchdown of the night.

After an interception by Buford thwarted a potential game-tying score by Cedar Grove, it took the Wolves offense all of seven plays to find the end zone again. This time, Joshua Thomas scored from 5 yards out to make the score 14-0 with 3:56 remaining in the first quarter.

On their next drive, the Saints did something no other team has done all year against Buford. Cedar Grove’s Deion Sellers scored from 7 yards out for the first points allowed by the Buford defense in the first quarter all season long.

Buford’s Montgomery VanGorder connected with Bart on a 9-yard touchdown pass to make the halftime lead 20-7 in Buford’s favor.

The Saints didn’t go away quietly as Sellers scored from 6 yards out on the opening possession of the third quarter to close within seven.

After a Thomas 1-yard touchdown run came one of the crucial errors made by Cedar Grove. It fumbled the kickoff, giving the Buford offense excellent field position at the Saints’ 28-yard line. On the next play, VanGorder and Jaylen Mize connected on a touchdown pass that extended the Buford lead to 34-13.

Sellers responded again for the Saints, this time with an exciting 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He started out running to his left, and just when it looked he was going to be stopped, he broke out of the grasp of several Buford tacklers on his way to the endzone. The Saints added the two-point conversion to close to 34-21.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, VanGorder connected with David Curry on a 44 yard TD pass to extend the Buford lead to 20 points, putting the game out of reach.

After the game Simpson cited the efforts of quarterbacks Taylor Mitchell and VanGorder.

"They played a heck of a game tonight," he said. "They managed our offense and got us in the right plays. And they obviously threw the ball well tonight. And that happens because you can run the ball well."

VanGorder finished the night with 6 completions on 9 attempts and 118 passing yards to go along with three passing touchdowns. Hoxie added 109 rushing yards and a score while Thomas had 85 rushing yards and a score.

For Cedar Grove, McCrary finished the final game of his high school career with 198 passing yards on 23 completions and one score.