It’s a pretty simple formula for success for the Buford Wolves after all these years; dominate both lines of scrimmage, play solid special teams and rack up the playoff appearances and state championships.

That formula worked once again as the Wolves defeated the North Oconee Titans 56-7 at Tom Riden Stadium in on Friday night. The win for the Wolves (7-1, 5-0) clinched their 17th straight trip to the state playoffs and brought them one step closer to another Region 8-AAAA title.

The Wolves scored on six of eight first-half possessions behind a balanced offense that rushed for 150 yards and passed for 140, while their defense held the Titans (4-4, 3-2) to 70 total yards. Six Wolves rushed for touchdowns, with fullback T.D. Roof and tailback Christian Turner leading the way with two each. Brandon Marsh and Alan Bussoletti caught touchdown passes from quarterback Mic Roof, who completed 12 of his 15 passes for 173 yards through the first possession of the third quarter.

“He’s really stood out for me the past few weeks and is really throwing the ball well which has been something we’ve been working on,” Buford head coach Jess Simpson said of his junior signal caller.

Twelve Wolves carried the ball with no one player toting the rock more than Christian Turner’s eight times for 68 yards with a touchdown, and Anthony Grant leading in yards with 71 on seven carries). Martin Mangram rushed five times for 30 yards with a score and Joshua Blackwell had 23 yards on four carries. The Wolves finished with 236 rushing yards on 35 carries.

Marsh led the balanced attack with three receptions for 53 yards. Bussoletti caught four balls for 35 yards and tight end Jake Simpson had two receptions for 37 yards with a 28-yard touchdown reception off a beautifully thrown play-action pass from Roof midway through the second quarter.

“It’s fun to spread the ball around,” Simpson said of his balanced attack. “That’s kind of been our MO around here for a long time. It’s fun to share the ball and see a lot of kids do well and have success.”

Buford started the scoring on a quick three play, 25-yard drive that started at its own 25 yard line after a quick three-and-out and a 17-yard punt by North Oconee. That led to a Grant 8-yard TD run at the 8:14 mark of the first quarter.

T.D. Roof scored on a fullback dive from 4 yards at the 5:08 mark of the first quarter on a two-play, 4-yard drive after a 30-yard punt return by Blackwell.

The Titans then shocked the Wolves’ dominating defense, scoring on a 65-yard pass from quarterback Sam Middlebrooks to wide receiver De’Marco Canty off of play-action to make the score 14-7 at the 4:54 mark.

“You have to give credit to them,” Simpson said of his defense allowing their first touchdown in region play. “They had a great call and made a great play. That’s just part of football. You’d love to shut them out every week (the Wolves had shut out their previous three opponents), but that’s what’s so fun about this team; they’re not stats driven. They’re just about winning, playing hard, competing and getting better.”

Buford scored to begin the second quarter on another short drive when Roof hit Marsh for a 42-yard touchdown off yet another play-action pass to give the Wolves a 21-7 lead.

After another three-and-out by the Titans, the Wolves scored on their longest drive of the game, a seven-play, 65-yard drive which took nearly under three minutes with a Mangram plunge from 2 yards with 6:47 remaining in the second.

The Wolves defense allowed only one first down until midway through the fourth quarter, and the Titans totaled three for the game while rushing for 32 yards on 34 carries. Middlebrooks completed 3-of-6 passes for 87 yards.

Buford’s defense also forced two turnovers and Blackwell added 81 combined return yards in the all-around dominating effort in all three phases of the game for the Wolves.

“For five or six weeks we’ve really been building momentum,” Simpson said of his team’s play in which it has outscored five region foes 261-10. “We’re getting better and better because we’ve had great practices, been getting really physical and competitive with each other. We’re on the right track but we don’t want to have a hiccup.

“I told the kids this week when the music sounds good you don’t hit pause and skip to the next song. You turn it up and keep rolling.”

Wolves 56, Titans 7

Stats that matter: North Oconee could only manage one first down until midway through the fourth quarter and rushed for 32 yards.

Game changer: Buford quarterback Mic Roof completed 12-of-15 passes for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns, while 12 Wolves carried the ball for 236 yards (on 35 total rushes) with 6 different players scoring touchdowns on the ground.

Up next: Buford travels to Madison County on Friday; North Oconee hosts Stephens County.