Buford quarterback DJ Hunter wore an appropriate word on the back of his jersey Saturday night against Gainesville.
“Poise.”
The Class 7A top-ranked Wolves (1-0) were victorious once again in a nationally televised game, but they were was far from perfect in their 39-19 win over the Red Elephants (0-1).
Gainesville, No. 2 in Class 6A, led 13-10 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Buford hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown and had just 44 total yards. But the Wolves never seemed rattled.
Senior safety and running back Jameer Cantrell said he saw veterans and first-time starters alike handle the moment.
The spotlight isn’t new to Buford, after all. The Wolves also opened the 2025 season on national television and won a de facto national championship game in December.
“We had a lot of young guys who stepped up tonight playing under the lights, playing under the cameras,” Cantrell said. “They really improved and showed that it doesn’t matter who’s watching.
“They’re just always going to play ball.”
Credit: Erik S. Lesser for the AJC
Credit: Erik S. Lesser for the AJC
Buford outscored Gainesville 29-6 the rest of the way. Hunter put the Wolves back in front with a 6-yard rushing touchdown 61 seconds after Gainesville took the lead.
“We really broke their spirit,” Cantrell said. “We changed the game there and just showed them that we’re here.”
Buford forced a three-and-out on Gainesville’s next drive, and running back Tripp Chatmon helped Buford take the game’s first two-possession lead two minutes and 10 seconds after Hunter’s touchdown.
A botched punt snap on Gainesville’s next possession was recovered by Buford in the end zone for a touchdown.
“In big environments, you know what I mean, sometimes that will happen to you,” Gainesville coach Santavious Bryant said.
Gainesville spiraled from there, losing a fumble on its next offensive possession to set up Buford’s last score.
“I think it was sloppy for both teams in the beginning: turnovers and bad snaps and things like that,” Buford coach Bryant Appling said. “We saved ours for the end, but they gave us enough opportunities to stretch it out a little bit, and we did, so I’m proud of those guys.”
Credit: Erik S. Lesser for the AJC
Credit: Erik S. Lesser for the AJC
Buford made its share of blunders, too. The Wolves had a bad snap on fourth down in the second quarter, turning the ball over to Gainesville 7 yards from the goal line.
But Buford’s defense forced a field goal, preserving a 7-6 lead.
Gainesville, on the other hand, surrendered touchdowns on both of its bad snaps on fourth down.
“You keep giving up bad things on special teams and self-inflicted wounds, that’s what’s going to happen,” Bryant said.
It was Bryant’s first game as Gainesville’s coach. Bryant previously coached the Red Elephants’ defensive backs before taking the head job at Grayson, where he coached from 2023 to 2025.
Credit: Erik S. Lesser for the AJC
Credit: Erik S. Lesser for the AJC
Both teams have next week off before traveling for out-of-state games. Gainesville will play at East St. Louis (Illinois) on Sept. 5.
Buford will visit Mallard Creek (North Carolina) on Sept. 4. The Wolves are 2-0 against the Mavericks all time, with wins in 2022 and 2023. Recent transfer Jalen Brewster, the No. 1-ranked overall senior recruit in the country, could be eligible to play for Buford by then.
“If we can start this way and we can build on it and get better, I feel real good about our chances,” Appling said. “We’re a young football team. A really young football team compared to where we were last year, so we’ve just got to keep chopping wood.”
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