DRIVE FOR THE GHSA STATE TITLE: Roswell, Buford meet for a battle of top Class 6/5A powerhouses

Photo Courtesy of Lily McGregor Photography

Roswell enters Buford’s newly opened Phillip Beard Stadium in a matchup of unbeaten powerhouses in the top classifications in the state. And the Hornets want to avenge last year’s 57-17 loss.

Friday’s matchup will be broadcast live on the Peachtree Sports Network (cable and YouTube TV), and streamed live on the Atlanta News First website/app. From your home, download the free ANF+ app anywhere you stream — FireTV, AppleTV, Roku and YouTubeTV — simply by searching for “Atlanta News First” on those platforms. If you are on the go, you can download Atlanta News First for free in the app store on your Apple or Android device. You can also watch live here on the WANF – Special Events channel.

All-time, Roswell has the best of Buford as the Hornets hold a 12-4 record over the Wolves. While most of the matchups between the two schools were in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the two schools have met just twice this century with the third matchup coming up this Friday. Buford and Roswell have split the series in the 2000’s as Roswell defeated Buford 24-7 in 2016 and Buford winning last season's matchup.

Jonathan Thompson leads the Hornets in his first season after coming over from Lee County where he spent multiple seasons as the Trojans offensive coordinator. Thompson’s offense in Lee County was one of the highest-scoring units in all of Georgia High School Football a season ago, led by now-Florida State running back Ousmane Kromah.

Now Thompson leads an offense that has scored 37.5 points per game through two games of action against Peachtree Ridge and Walton. The Hornets have started off 2-0 for the last eight seasons and would need to pick up a big win on the road against Buford to become 3-0 for the first time since 2023.

After last week’s tough road game at Raider Valley, the Hornets have been tested on the road, but have not seen anything like the new environment that has been constructed in Buford.

The Hornets are led by senior quarterback and Furman-commit Trey Smith as he has accounted for 202 yards through the air and two passing touchdowns along with 100 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. Wills Campbell and Nick Peal lead a talented skill position group on offense that Smith can rely on to make smart plays in big moments. Peal has accounted for a team-high 219 all-purpose yards through two games along with two touchdowns while Campbell is second on the team in receiving yards behind Peal with 66 so far on the season.

On defense, Thompson’s Hornets are led by middle linebacker Brody Duffy as he leads the team in total tackles by a wide margin with 30 on the young season. Duffy also leads the team with just over four tackles for loss so far through two games. Sophomore linebacker Jake Smith is right behind him with 12 on the season followed by defensive tackle Alex Lucas with 11.  The Roswell defense has only given up 45 points this season.

On the opposing sideline, Buford’s Bryant Appling has led the Wolves for the last seven seasons. Appling won three-straight state championships when he started with the program in 2019 and is looking to bring the Wolves back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the state championship.

Appling’s roster is filled with talent across the board including 10 players committing to Power 4 schools in the Class of 2026 including EDGE Bryce Perry-Wright (Texas A&M-commit), ATH Tyriq Green (Georgia-commit), OL Graham Houston (Georgia-commit), EDGE Dre Quinn (Clemson-commit), safety Nascar McCoy (Ole Miss-commit), TE Dream Rashad (Purdue-commit), OT Ben Mubenga (Arkansas-commit), running back Dylan McCoy (NC State-commit), safety Jax Pope (Mississippi State-commit), and quarterback Dayton Raiola (Nebraska-commit).

The Wolves have faced some tough competition to start the season as they opened against Milton on ESPN taking down the reigning Class 5A champions 20-13 followed by a 42-14 route of LaDamion Guyton and Benedictine in the following week.

Now coming off of a bye week, the Wolves are charged and ready to go for their bout with the Hornets on Friday night.

As the starting quarterback, Raiola has thrown for 302 yards and three touchdowns and just two interceptions so far this season. Raiola has plenty of playmakers to spread the ball around too including a dynamic pair of running backs in Green and McCoy. The senior running backs have accounted for 154 yards on the ground and three scores in the first two games of the season as they continue to hit their stride in the early season.

Wide receivers senior Torre Costin and sophomore Braylon Williams lead the pass catchers giving Raiola consistent options on the outside.

On the other side of the ball, the Wolves defense continues to impress as they have let up just 27 points on the season through two games.

The explosive pair of edge rushers in Perry-Wright and Quinn have combined for 35 total tackles and six tackles for loss making for a an elite pass rushing duo for the Wolves. In the backend of the defense, the Wolves have combined for three interceptions and five pass breakups as they attempt to make it hard for an experienced opposing quarterback in Smith this Friday night.

This Friday, the action will start ahead of the Score Atlanta broadcast of the Roswell vs. Buford matchup at 8 PM with the Georgia High School Countdown to Kickoff, beginning at 7:30 PM on the Peachtree Sports Network and the Atlanta News First website/app. The pregame show, which will feature on-air talent Rusty Mansell, Brandon Adams and Kaylee Mansell will preview the upcoming matchup with each person picking their winning team, along with interviews from each participating head coach.

After the clock hits zero, stay tuned after the game for the Georgia High School Postgame Show, which will be broadcast live from the Score Atlanta Studio, with Score Atlanta’s Craig Sager II, Max Wolborsky, Hayden Gilbert and Landon Knight featured on the program. The postgame show will run from game’s end till midnight every Friday night, with a full breakdown of each game, call-in guests chiming in to voice their opinions, and updates from other top-tier games around the state. The postgame show, like the pregame show, will be broadcast live on the Peachtree Sports Network and the Atlanta News First website/app.

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