No. 4 Buford football stays perfect after ‘The Grizzy’ gives them special teams magic

Two Georgia powerhouses. Two of the state’s most recent state championship teams. Yet, somehow, two teams that had never met in a regular-season game.

From the moment No. 4 Buford and Grayson stepped onto the field Friday night, Sept. 18, it was clear that this game was going to be anything but a normal high school football game.

And that ended up being true in Buford’s 23-13 win over Grayson at Britt-Moody Field.

With a 16-13 lead in the fourth quarter, Buford drove into the red zone but failed to turn the possession into a touchdown. With seven minutes remaining, The Wolves’ special teams unit took the field, looking to turn a three-point lead into six.

Or so the Rams thought.

Senior holder Ian Chafin took the snap, hopped up, spotted a hole to his right and ran straight into the end zone without a single Grayson defender touching him.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that open,” Chafin said after the game. “My teammates made it happen. They opened the hole for me and I just ran in and took advantage of the opportunity.”

.@buford_football scores off the trick play! @ianchaffin7 takes it right in for the TD 🏈🔥

4Q: @buford_football 23 @grayson_fb 13

▶️: https://t.co/RdxVSR1JM9pic.twitter.com/zgo2156zTD

— GPB Sports (@GPBsports) September 19, 2026

For Chafin, the play had been perfected long before he took the field Friday night. The Wolves had been practicing “The Grizzly” all week, and thanks to a call from special teams coordinator Drew Dasher, they finally got the chance to unleash it.

“I told (Dasher) earlier in the week, ‘If you’ve got the chance to do something, do it,'” head coach Bryant Appling said. “And he wasn’t scared to do it. It was the perfect call in the perfect situation.”

Dasher took the chance — and picked the right guy to execute it.

“I had to get in,” Chafin said. “There was no doubt I had to get in. I had to change the game right there.”

And that’s exactly what he did.

Although the Rams still had plenty of time to make something happen, the touchdown shifted the momentum squarely towards the Wolves, who suddenly had a 10-point lead with seven minutes remaining.

That touchdown marked Chafin’s first of the season and the second of his career, according to MaxPreps.

“He’s come a long way,” Appling said. “He’s a great leader, he’s a hard worker, he’s doing everything the way we need him to do it. For him to have the chance like that in a big game to make a special play like that, it’s huge.”

The Wolves got off to a slow start on both sides of the ball, with their first two offensive drives ending in an interception and a three-and-out. Their first two defensive drives, meanwhile, resulted in a Grayson field goal and a touchdown.

But after falling into a 10-0 deficit, Buford settled in.

“Our kids were too up and trying to make plays and that’s how things go,” Appling said. “But we found a way to play our brand of football against a really good defense and a really good team down the stretch.”

For the next three quarters, the Wolves defense held the Rams to just one field goal.

Bishop Gorman vs Mater Dei recap: Gaels make history in Super 25 win

Senior Brady Wagner led that defense with six tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

It’s hard to mention Buford’s defense without also mentioning its newest addition: five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster. Although he made his debut last weekend against Miami Central, the Texas Tech commit got his first taste of Georgia high school football against the Rams.

“It’s definitely from the trenches — Georgia,” Brewster said. “I’m getting used to Buford and Georgia and just really getting used to the scheme and the way they play ball down here.”

Buford walks away from its difficult opening four-game slate still undefeated.

“It’s everything for us,” Chafin said. “We need this momentum going into region play and then into playoffs.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No. 4 Buford football stays perfect after ‘The Grizzy’ gives them special teams magic