GREYHOUND FOOTBALL
BUFORD – Eyes of football observers across the state, especially with rooting interest in the University of Georgia, were probably trained on Friday’s scrimmage between the Greyhounds and Buford. It was the first live football action for highly-touted Georgia commit Dylan Raiola, who transferred to the Wolves program in the offseason.
From Jones County’s standpoint, however, the focus was on the opposite side of the field as the Greyhounds sought to see how they measure up against one of the state’s elite programs and more robust collections of talent.
In the end, Buford won 48-21, leading 41-21 by the end of three quarters before a balance of the rosters were turned over to reserves. Friday presented a chance for the Greyhounds to compete and test themselves against stout competition, and they did that from the start.
“I felt like our guys competed really, really well,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Chastain said. “Of course, Buford is extremely talented. One of their coaches was telling me it might be the best team they have ever had, so we felt really good about how our guys competed.”
As the opening kickoff fell just short of the end zone, Zion Ragins made Buford’s kickoff coverage unit pay, darting down the field for a 99-yard touchdown to begin the game.
The early tenacity continued on the scrimmage’s first play with the Wolves being tackled for a loss. Buford got in gear from there, putting together a pair of scoring drives within the first eight minutes to lead 14-7, both drives that saw big plays prevented with the Wolves driving inside the Greyhounds 10-yard line before scoring. Buford and its big-play offense would eventually get going, going up 21-7 on a 47-yard pass to highly-touted defensive back KJ Bolden, who also plays receiver, before Raiola would later connect on a 64-yard screen pass to go up 28-7.
The Greyhounds got going in the second quarter on a night that saw both quarterbacks lead a scoring drive.
Rotating time between starting quarterback Judd Anderson and backup Devin Edmonds, it was Edmonds who got JCHS on the board, finding Tyler Stewart for a 16-yard touchdown. Anderson’s most substantial drive to that point would follow on the next Jones County possession before it stalled out inside the Wolves 40.
Anderson would later drive the Greyhounds to a touchdown, finding Jaivon Solomon from 18 yards away.
“I’m proud of both of those guys. All summer in 7-on-7, a lot of that is about quarterbacks and receivers, and they played really well all summer,” Chastain said. “I’m proud of those guys. Right now, they’ll both play a good bit. They’ve had a lot of competition, and they’ve been right there, neck and neck. Neither one of them is doing bad; both are doing really well.”
The Greyhounds defense, despite going against lofty competition, did not relent, forcing two turnovers, one via a fumble and the other, a Tae Lattimore interception in the end zone.
The Greyhounds came away from Friday having been able to shake off some first-game rust and get away with minor miscues, but that all changes on Saturday against Northside, when the results will count in the win/loss column.
“I did not feel good about how we were really sloppy in some areas, and that’s the stuff that comes with scrimmages and first games of the season,” Chastain said. “Those are things we can’t afford to do this week coming up with Northside. We’ll have to be sharp and be on all cylinders.”
