BUFORD — By advancing to the second round of the playoffs, the Darlington Tigers proved that they are one of the top teams in Class AA.

The Buford Wolves, meanwhile, continue to prove that they are in a class by themselves.

With size, speed and stamina to spare, the top-ranked Wolves rolled past Darlington 41-0 on Friday night to notch their 12th consecutive win and their fourth shutout in the past five games.

Buford, which will play Charlton County next Friday in the quarterfinals, has now outscored its opponents 562-52 for the season.

“From a physical standpoint, Buford is the best team I’ve ever coached against,” said Darlington coach Tommy Atha. “I certainly think they’re going to be (the state champs). I just can’t imagine anyone beating them.”

Darlington (9-3) trailed only 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wolves (12-0) exploded for four second-quarter touchdowns for a 34-0 halftime lead. They added one more score in the third period to set the final margin.

Buford star running back Demtetris Murray finished with 121 yards and four touchdowns on just seven carries.

The senior, who missed last week’s 56-6 win over Washington-Wilkes with a shoulder injury, compiled only 14 yards over his first three carries, but each of his next four attempts went for TDs (on runs of 53, 7, 41 and 16 yards).

The third touchdown came on a play in which he took a direct snap, faked an inside handoff, and then took off down the right sideline for the score.

Cody Getz also had a 53-yard touchdown run and fullback Tyler King had a one-yard scoring dive for the Wolves, who compiled 199 yards in the first half.

“Without a doubt, that is the biggest, fastest team I’ve ever played against,” said Darlington’s Collie Powers. “Our defense played well at times, but we also missed some reads, and that hurt us. We weren’t able to contain the big plays.”

Though the final score was one-sided, it wasn’t as if Darlington didn’t taste any success throughout the evening.

Quarterback Patrick Wilson, in fact, had a sharp performance, completing 11-of-20 passes for 87 yards. He was 7-of-13 for 53 yards in the second half.

He showcased his toughness all night, standing in the pocket and delivering well-thrown balls despite heavy pressure. He also hopped to his feet on numerous occasions after being snowed under by the bulky Buford defense.

Several other Darlington players — including Patrick Collier, Derricus Ellis, Powers and Tyson Betts — also produced gutty performances.

“I’m very proud of our football team, because we played hard until the very last snap,” said Atha. Added Powers: “We were looking forward to coming here and seeing what we were made up. And we definitely played hard all night long.”

Buford’s Getz was a game-changer for the Wolves. In addition to his 53-yard scoring run in the second quarter, he also produced several long returns on kickoffs and punts.

His first punt return went for 41 yards and set up a one-yard touchdown run by King with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

Murray, a cousin of Garrison Hearst, then scored three times in a nine-minute span in the second quarter to help Buford.

“We knew coming into the game that we needed to take away the big plays, and sustain some drives of our own,” said Atha, “and we weren’t able to do either one early in the game.”

Still, it has been a season to remember for Darlington, which returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence. “It was a great season, and we had a terrific group of seniors that led us,” said Powers.