High School

Douglas County vs. Buford: Live updates from Georgia high school football Top-25 battle

Follow along live as Douglas County and Buford face off in a clash of Top-25 battle

Harry Lichtman

Buford quarterback Dayton Raiola (10) looks to pass as Milton's Christian Hunter applies the pass rush in the 2025 Georgia high school opener, won by
Buford quarterback Dayton Raiola (10) looks to pass as Milton's Christian Hunter applies the pass rush in the 2025 Georgia high school opener, won by / Colin Hubbard

Two of the Peach State's best will square off on Friday night as Buford hosts Douglas County in a battle of Georgia high school football powers.

Buford enters the week 2-0 and ranked No. 2 in the Georgia High School Football Top 25 State Rankings after the Wolves dominated Benedictine last week.

Douglas County is also 2-0 and ranked in the Top 5 at No. 4, as the Tigers shut out Jonesboro last Friday night.

This will be the third all-time meeting between the two schools with all coming since 2020. Buford won 48-0 in the playoffs that year and then 31-14 last year in Douglasville. The Wolves have been the best program in the state for the last 25 years, while Douglas County has been new to the state powerhouse scene for the last two years.

Players to Watch

Douglas County

  • Michael Johnson - QB: A 3-star recruit and Utah commit
  • Aaron Gregory - WR: A 4-star recruit and Texas A&M commit
  • Jordan Carter - EDGE: A 4-star senior and Texas A&M commit
  • Adryan Cole - SAF: A 4-star junior with 42 offers including Georgia and Auburn
  • Kennedy Green - SAF: A 4-star junior with 34 offers including Nebraska and South Carolina

Buford

  • Dayton Raiola - QB: A 3-star senior and Nebraska commit
  • Dylan McCoy - RB: A 3-star senior and NC State commit
  • Bryce Perry-Wright - EDGE: A 5-star senior who chose Texas A&M over 41 other offers
  • Dre Quinn - EDGE: A 4-star senior and Clemson commit
  • Ty Green - SAF: A 4-star senior who committed to Georgia
  • Nascar McCoy - SAF: A 4-star senior and Ole Miss commit

Pick'em Challenge

Let us know who you think will win by trying your hand at our Pick 'Em challenge

Live Updates:

1

2

3

4

F

Douglas County

0

6

6

14

26

Buford

14

10

7

3

34

Pregame

- Game is slated to kick off at 7:35 pm.

1st Quarter

- Tigers take the opening kickoff and begin at their own 20. On 3rd and 10, Michael Johnson fumbles the ball and Silas Nuckles picks up the ball and takes it to the 3-yard-line to give the Wolves the ball.

Wolves get 1st and goal at the 3. On 4th and goal, Georgia commit Ty Green scores on a three-yard touchdown run. Extra point good with 9:08 left in the 1st.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 7, Douglas County 0, 9:08 left in 1st

Tigers begin the ensuing drive at the 20 again. They lose a lot of yardage on the first play but a personal foul penalty on the Wolves moves them 15 yards. But the Tigets go three and out and are forced to punt.

Ty Green gets a big return for the Wolves and takes them to the opponents' 30. The drive ends with kicker Andrew Ivanicuc missing a 42-yard field goal.

Tigers take over at their own 20. On 2nd and 9, Johnson keeps it himself for a huge gain and the first down. Zamarcus Lindley also gets a big gain for the first down. A defensive pass interference call moves the Tigers to the opponents' 47.

The Tigers move a little closer but lose yardage, and then go three and out and punt.

Wolves take over at the 20. Dayton Raiola completes a pass to Dream Rashad for an 18-yard gain and a first down at their own 38. Raiola fires deep to Braylon Williams for a 63-yard touchdown pass. Extra point good with 15 seconds left in the 1st.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 14, Douglas County 0, 0:15 left in 1st

Tigers take the ensuing kickoff to the 39, but a penalty moves them back. They start at the 13 as Johnson fires deep to Aaron Gregory at the opponents' 34-yard-line as the quarter ends.

End of 1st: Buford 14, Douglas County 0

2nd Quarter

- Wolves begin the quarter with 1st and 10 at the 34. Johnson keeps it himself for a big gain to the 20. TIMEOUT.

Johnson connects with Devin Carter for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Extra point is blocked with 11:38 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 14, Douglas County 6, 11:38 left in 2nd.

Wolves begin their ensuing drive at their own 20. On 3rd down, Raiola gets sacked by Jordan Carter. Punt.

Tigers start at their own 24 with 9:59 left. Intentional grounding moves them back inside the 10. Tigers go three and out and are forced to punt.

Ty Green muffs the punt while calling for a fair catch and the Tigers recover. But the Tigers get penalized for kick catch interference.

Wolves begin at their opponents' 40. Jameer Cantrell gets a huge gain on the carry. Then so does Green. But a penalty moves them back on third down. Ivanicuc makes a 41-yard field goal with 6:08 left in the half.

FIELD GOAL: Buford 17, Douglas County 6, 6:08 left in 2nd.

Tigers take the ensuing kickoff to their own 26. Johnson connects with Carter for the first down at the 45 for a gain of 19.

An illegal participation penalty moves the Tigers back. Two Wolves defenders collide as they try to sack Johnson, resulting in an injury timeout. Tigers go three and out and punt.

Wolves begin at their own 35. An offensive penalty moves them back as they go three and out. Punt.

However, Rah'keith Kelly muffs the punt and the Wolves recover at their opponents' 10. On 3rd and goal, Dylan McCoy gets the carry and takes it in for a five-yard touchdown run. Extra point good with 1:31 left in the half.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 24, Douglas County 6, 1:31 left in 2nd.

Tigers begin the ensuing drive at their own 20. Johnson finds Kelly for a huge gain and the first down at their own 41. However, they don't move the ball after that and punt.

Wolves begin the next drive at their own 27. The clock runs out as the half ends.

End of 2nd: Buford 24, Douglas County 6

3rd Quarter

- The Wolves take the second half opening kickoff and begin at their own 20. But they go three and out and are forced to punt.

Tigers begin at their own 31. They move the ball into Wolves territory with some runs. They go for it on 4th and 5 from their opponents' 41, but Johnson gets sacked at the 47 by Joshua Echols. Turnover on downs.

Wolves take over at their own 47 with 7:05 on the clock. They move the ball closer as Nuckles gets a big 34-yard run before getting knocked out of bounds at the 2. This sets up McCoy's second touchdown run of the night, this time from one yard out. Extra point good with 3:30 left in the 3rd.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 31, Douglas County 6, 3:30 left in 3rd.

Tigers begin again at the 20. Johnson gets a huge gain on the keeper all the way to the Wolves' 32.

Both teams get offsetting penalties, which result in a first down for the Tigers at the 19. Cam Anderson enters at QB. Then Johnson returns. A defensive pass interference call moves them closer to the 5.

Another DPI call keeps the drive alive. Lindley gets the carry and scores from two yards out. Two-point conversion no good with 1:14 left in the quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 31, Douglas County 12, 1:14 left in 3rd.

Tigers' squib kick goes out of bounds as the Wolves start at their own 35. Cantrell moves the chains on 2nd and 2. Time runs out as the quarter ends.

End of 3rd: Buford 31, Douglas County 12

4th Quarter

- Wolves begin the quarter at the Tigers' 44. Green keeps pounding the rock on the drive. But they go three and out and punt.

Tigers begin at their own 12 with 8:15 left. On 2nd and 6, Lindley gets a huge run as he scampers all the way to the opponents' 23. Anderson throws a swing pass to Kelly he gets a huge gain for 1st and goal at the 9.

Tigers go for it on 4th and goal, as Anderson connects with Gregory in the back of the end zone for the six-yard touchdown. Two-point conversion good with 5:20 left in the game. This capped off an eight-play, 88-yard drive.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 31, Douglas County 20, 5:20 left in 4th.

Tigers attempt an onside kick but they squib kick it to the Wolves as they take over at their own 49. A horsecollar penalty moves the Wolves closer. The drive ends with Ivanicuc making a 44-yard field goal with 2:40 left in the game.

FIELD GOAL: Buford 34, Douglas County 20, 2:40 left in 4th.

Tigers begin at their own 20. On 2nd and 10, Anderson connects with Kelly who races to the 40. Two plays later, Anderson fires deep towards Carter for the 40-yard touchdown. Two-point conversion no good with 1:57 left in regulation.

TOUCHDOWN: Buford 34, Douglas County 26, 1:57 left in 4th.

Tigers attempt an onside kick but the Wolves recover near midfield at their own 45. They convert on 4th and 1 with a Green carry as they run out the clock and end the game.

FINAL: Buford 34, Douglas County 26

RECAP

Two of the top high school football teams in Georgia faced off, as Buford dominated the majority of the contest, at least until Douglas County almost came back in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, the Wolves held on for the 34-26 victory to improve to 4-0 while the Tigers drop to 3-2.

Buford really showed why they're the No. 2-ranked team in the state as they jumped out to a 31-6 lead late in the third quarter. Ty Green and Dylan McCoy (twice) each got in the end zone on some touchdown runs, while quarterback Dayton Raiola connected with Braylon Williams on a 63-yard TD pass.

Douglas County quarterback Michael Johnson did his best to keep his team in it, until an injury sidelined him as he was replaced by freshman Cam Anderson. Regardless, wide receiver Devin Carter caught two touchdown passes from Johnson and Anderson each, while Anderson threw a TD pass to Aaron Gregory, and running back Zamarcus Lindley took it in for a short TD run.

The Tigers outscored the Wolves 20-3 late in the contest, but Buford recovered the onside kick with 1:57 left and were able to run the clock out.

Published |Modified
Harry Lichtman
HARRY LICHTMAN

Harry Lichtman is a sports reporter based in Montgomery County, MD and the DC area. He also writes for Capitals Outsider and LastWordOnSports, and previously wrote for MLB Report, The Sports Pulse, the Baltimore Jewish Times, the Montgomery County Sentinel, and The Bottom Line newspaper at Frostburg State University. In 2020, Harry won an MDDC Press award for a story about former high school lacrosse head coach Jeff Fritz. Harry has been writing since 2016.

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