Gwinnett County

Buford defeats Carrollton to win state title, lock up national championship

Buford High School Football Stadium Here are some more photos from the new football stadium at Buford High School. (Nelson Hicks)

ATLANTA — The Buford Wolves are state champions once again. Their win over the Carrollton Trojans also earned them national bragging rights.

Buford defeated Carrollton, 28-21, to win the GHSA Class 6A title at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday. Georgia Bulldogs signee Tyriq Green scored the game-winning, 82-yard touchdown with 2:37 to play. He won the Most Valuable Player award.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Wolves finished with a 15-0 undefeated record to win their first state title since 2021. Buford head coach Bryant Appling said his team set their goals back in July and stuck to them.

“They didn’t want to leave out here without a ring. They wanted to be the first team to go 15-0. When you have something to go six months ahead and they do it, it’s kind of special,” Appling told Georgia Public Broadcasting after the game.

The victory also likely secures the program its first national championship, too. Entering Tuesday night’s game, MaxPreps ranked Buford as No. 5 and Carrollton as No. 1 in its national rankings. USA Today had Buford at No. 1 and Carrollton at No. 2.

Most of the polls final rankings will be out following the Texas state championships later this week. But MaxPreps has already said that Buford secured its No. 1 spot after the win and it’s hard to see USA Today bump Buford out of its top spot.

The last Georgia high school team to win a national title was Colquitt County in 2015.

TRENDING STORIES:

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

0