Certainties exist at every level of football. The NFL, college football and the high school game all have things that never seem to change.
Take for example, the fact that Tom Brady will be on the New England Patriots injury watch list each and every week, even though he’s played in 127 straight games in the regular season and playoffs. Supposedly, it has something to do with a separated shoulder from 2002, but it’s just excepted that he’ll still be listed as ‘probable’ every week.
Only after three years, is Brady not on the injury list, for the Pats season opener.
College football also has its own guarantees. One of which is Notre Dame will get flooded with national television exposure, even though the majority of fans will dodge watching a Fighting Irish game at all cost. Another sure-fire lock is that Georgia will pencil in a cupcake, or two, each season before diving into the SEC schedule.
Central Michigan? Really? I still think the visitors got the better end of that deal with the hefty pay day to come play in Athens. I know Georgia wants to play at home, but playing the defending MAC champions doesn’t exactly get the Bulldogs ready to play the toughest schedule in college football this season.
Likewise, certainties that filter down to the high school game also exist. The best example of which is that Buford is going to be dominant, year-in and year-out.
It takes a lot of mystery out of diagnosing why Class AA’s No. 1 ranked Wolves (2-0) are so dominant when you just acknowledge they are bigger, faster and stronger than every opponent they face. I’ve been around these parts for a long time, and never been to a Buford game when I said, ‘Man, that other team is just more physical than Buford.’
Every year lots of schools are just waiting for the Wolves to fall apart. And it never seems to happen. Last season was supposed to be the end of the Buford dynasty. The argument was simple that they couldn’t repeat in 2008 with seven players signing Division I scholarships, and a handful of others signing with smaller schools or walking-on.
Well, once again, Buford looks like it is going to prove the naysayers wrong. The Wolves just keep on chugging along with its rich football history, and are bound to compete for another state title this season. In fact, I had a funny thought while watching Georgia dismantle Central Michigan in Sanford Stadium last Saturday: Maybe Buford and Central Michigan would be on a more even playing field, than the Bulldogs and Chippewas.
Combing over the numbers with Buford’s recent football history are pretty staggering.
I think one of the most impressive number that jumped off the page is that the Wolves have been ranked at No. 1 in the state a total of 80 weeks in the programs history. Equally impressive is the fact that Buford has a string going of eight consecutive seasons with at least 12 wins. That’s amazing for a high school program to achieve that level of success.
The Wolves have 39 straight wins in the regular season dating back to a loss against Class AAAAA’s Central Gwinnett in 2004. Buford’s loss to Central Gwinnett snapped a previous 47-game winning streak.
And then you have to mention the fact that the Wolves have four state championship trophies dating back to 2001, and five state title game appearances since 2000.
Yeah, some things just never seem to change.