Defending National Champion Buford Looked Vulnerable — Until Everything Changed

The Wolves trailed late in the third quarter before DJ Hunter and a series of Gainesville miscues turned a tight game into a 39-19 victory.

Buford quarterback DJ Hunter turns the corner for his second touchdown of the game. | Photo by Jonathan Giles

Most high school football programs talk about expectations. At Buford, they keep theirs behind glass.

Walk into the second level of the fieldhouse at Buford's brand-new stadium — the building where coaches meet, and alums gather — and there's a trophy case filled with proof of what the standard looks like.

The latest trophy came last season, when Buford went 15-0, won the Class 6A state championship and finished as the nation's No. 1 team. Saturday, in front of more than 10,000 fans and a national television audience on ESPN2, a new group of Wolves began its quest to build a legacy of its own — and perhaps add more hardware to the case.

But it took them a while to look like Buford.

The Buford Wolves offense looks to the sideline for the play. | Photo by Jonathan Giles

The defending national champions opened the 2026 season with a 39-19 win over Gainesville at Phillip Beard Stadium. But, for most of the first three quarters, Gainesville looked perfectly comfortable sharing the stage. Buford had just 33 yards of offense in the first half. Its first touchdown came after a Gainesville special-teams mistake, when senior Brady Wagner recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone.

Gainesville Pushes Buford Into the Third Quarter

Buford took a 10-6 lead into halftime, but after the break, Gainesville took the lead. With roughly five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Red Elephants were ahead 13-10. Buford had 44 total yards and, remarkably, still had not scored an offensive touchdown.

DJ Hunter Ignites the Buford Offense

Then something clicked. Or should we say someone.

Quarterback DJ Hunter finally broke through with Buford's first offensive touchdown, and it seemed to be the spark the team needed. The Wolves forced a three-and-out, and Tripp Chatmon scored just over two minutes later to give Buford its first two-possession lead.

Gainesville's special teams sent another snap sailing over the head of the punter near the end zone, and Buford recovered it for another touchdown. What had been a one-possession fight suddenly wasn't one anymore. The defending champions had spent nearly three quarters trading blows with their opponent, but all at once Gainesville seemed to run out of steam.

Student section at Phillip Beard Stadium | Photo by Jonathan Giles

A Different Buford Team Faces the Same Expectations

That's the thing about expectations, though. Everyone has them. Family, friends, and fans. Alums, boosters, and sponsors. Even the away team's fanbase comes into town hoping to spoil the memory of last year's championship.

But this isn't last year's team.

Seven defensive starters are gone. So are the Wolves' leading passer, top two rushers and top two receivers. The offensive line entered the opener banged up, and Hunter is now the quarterback responsible for replacing Dayton Raiola after spending last season as his backup.

There will need to be cleaner performances. A championship program isn't defined by how many Division I recruits remain. It's defined by how quickly the next player steps forward.

Eventually, Hunter showed up on Saturday, and the rest of the team in all phases of the game followed his lead.

Back inside the fieldhouse, plenty of expectations have already been met and preserved behind glass. If Saturday was any indication, these Wolves intend to make room for one more.