No. 1 Buford survives slow start to rout No. 6 Lovett

BUFORD – After a sloppy first half with more penalties than points against No. 6 Lovett, Buford coach Jess Simpson expected his team to prove it was worthy of its No. 1 ranking.

His group responded with three third quarter touchdowns and a dominating defensive effort to pull away for a 35-7 win in the first key Region 6-AA battle of the season for both teams.

The Wolves (6-0) piled up nearly 500 yards of total offense, more than 400 on the ground, while the defense held the Lions (3-1) managed less than 100 for the game.

The defense has allowed just three touchdowns all season, all coming late in games when the first team was not on the field.

Buford led 7-0 at halftime on the strength of a 27-yard touchdown run from Darius Smith, but nearly a dozen first half penalties killed several drives. While the penalties continued for Buford in the second half, the execution on offense picked up.

The Wolves scored on their first three second half possessions, getting two TD runs from Andre Johnson and one from Nathan Staub to run out to a 28-0 lead. Lovett never recovered.

Johnson would finish with 180 yards on 11 carries to pace Buford, which opens its Region 6A-AA subregion schedule against Decatur (2-3) next week.