Walton ended Buford’s bid for a fourth consecutive state championship and a national title Friday night, easily outshining a dozen other upsets and history-making victories in the second round of the GHSA football playoffs.
St. Francis reached the state quarterfinals for the first time in history, and Wayne County became the first team in 10 years, and the second ever, to win 10 games after a winless season.
But the night belonged to Walton, which beat Class 7A’s No. 1-ranked team 42-35 on the road.
A 16-point underdog in the computer Maxwell Ratings, Walton led 35-28 in the fourth quarter and faced a fourth-and-6 from Buford’s 43-yard line. Coach Daniel Brunner went for it, and Jeremy Hecklinski threw a touchdown pass to Ayden Jackson with 6:17 left for a 14-point margin. Buford scored its final points in the final minute and failed to recover an onside kick.
Walton’s victory ended Buford’s 22-game win streak overall, 22-game win streak in second-round games, 16-game win streak in playoff games and 28-game win streak in home games against Georgia opponents. The Wolves were ranked in the top 10 of seven national polls and were No. 2 in one of them.
It was Walton’s first victory against a No. 1-ranked team since 2007, when the Raiders beat defending state champion Roswell. This marks Buford’s first failure to reach the quarterfinals since 1999.
The Walton-Buford game was one of eight in which higher-ranked teams were beaten.
Another was Wayne County’s 14-7 victory against No. 3 Perry in Class 4A. Wayne County has gone to 10-2 from 0-9 under first-year coach Jaybo Shaw and won Friday as a 15-point underdog. The only other team in GHSA history to go from a full winless season to 10 victories was Monroe Area in 2012.
Other games that might have counted as upsets were North Gwinnett over No. 9 Lambert 38-35 in 7A, Savannah Christian over No. 5 Peach County 23-7 in 3A, Fellowship Christian over No. 8 Eagle’s Landing Christian 26-15 in 2A, Mount Pisgah Christian over No. 6 Darlington 26-20 in A Division I and Dooly County over No. 4 Charlton County 14-13.
St. Francis, an Alpharetta private school that started varsity football in 2010, reached its first quarterfinal with a 34-20 victory against Trion in Class A Division I. The Knights (9-3) had won only one playoff game until this season.
The third round will commence next week with 64 teams in the hunt for eight state championships.
