A New Look for the Wildcats

It’s a new season with a brand new coaching staff for the .  The new head coach at Woodland, Coach DiLorenzo, says, “Woodland feels like home to me; it feels like I’ve been here 15 years.” 

The odds were against Woodland as their first game approached. Having had previous struggles against , losing seven out of the last eight match ups, Woodland was seen as the under-dog in the game. However, a new coach brought a new era of Woodland football, and the Wildcats had redemption on their minds. Woodland brought a positive attitude and a clear, winning mind to the Doug Cochran stadium on Aug. 26.

After the game, Coach DiLorenzo said, “I realized how important the Cass game was after I saw the reaction from the players and the fans.” 

stated, “After beating Cass, it felt like a new beginning for our team.”

The battle between the two high schools ended with a victory for Woodland with a score of 39 to 26.

After a hot start, Woodland took their pride and defended their home field against South Forsyth. The attitude presented in this game was similar to that in the Cass game, with Woodland keeping their heads held high during the entire game. The offense was clearly the best part of the night, putting up an impressive 55 points, with wide receiver Twan Terrell having three touchdowns for the blow-out win over the South Forsyth War Eagles. 

Twan Terrell said, “Coach DiLorenzo always talks about being in the ‘zone’, where you concentrate on nothing but the game, and just focus on what you have to do to perform at the next level. Against South Forsyth, I felt like I was in that ‘zone.'”

Rome was the next test of the football team’s true abilities this season. The first drive of the game was not in the favor of the Wildcats, ending with a punt to give the ball to Rome. Rome moved the ball down field to the 20 yard line. Fortunately for Woodland, the next play resulted in a fumble recovered by Trey Thompson, and was returned 80 yards for the touchdown. 

This was the game’s only touchdown until late in the third quarter. It was third down with 25 yards to go for Rome, but a pass interference call gave them an automatic first down. They easily trotted into the end zone on the following play. 

Trey Thompson said after the game, “The game doesn’t always run fairly, but we must keep that experience in the past and keep our heads held high.”

After suffering the heart-breaking loss to the Rome Wolves, the Wildcats had another tough team to face the following week. Woodland trained hard after their first loss, preparing for John’s Creek, which was undefeated. The Wildcats fought hard, but in the end they left the field with another loss.

Coach DiLorenzo proclaimed, “This was one of those games where you really don’t know why you lost.”

Starting receiver, Xavier Niblet, said after the game, “I felt like we were so close to getting where we needed to be, but we must focus on the little things; we can get there.”

The next week, the Wildcats had recovery on their minds to redeem themselves from the tough losses against Rome and John’s Creek. Woodland welcomed Forsyth Central to the Wildcat Stadium on Homecoming night. This was a well-rounded game for both defense and offense. The Wildcat defense held the Bulldogs to only 13 points the entire game, while the offense put up a total of six touchdowns. 

Qua Stocks said, “It was a good experience for my first homecoming game; we played well, but still have some things we have to work on to become better as a team.” 

After the bye week, Woodland hosted Chattahoochee, the defending state champions.  The Wildcats kept pace with their opponents during the first half with a score of 34 to 20.  The second half, however, was overwhelming for the Wildcats, with no score for the offense, and Chattahoochee putting up another 24 points. The game ended with a final score of Chattahoochee, 58, to Woodland's 20. 

Deo Adams said, “Our team is like a family, if one member is down, the others need to pick them up.”

With the season half way over, the Wildcats have a three win and a three loss record. Woodland has turned the whole football program around this season. As the state playoffs approach, Woodland is pushing harder each day and becoming better as a unit.

“Every day at practice, our players are pushing to receive only the best results possible at the end of the season,” saidTerrell.

Team Stats

Passing:

75 completions/ 114 attempts/ .658 completion percentage

Rushing:

139 carries/ 866 yards/ 6.23 average per carry/ 173.2 yards per game/ 9 touchdowns

Receiving:

69 receptions/ 969 yards/ 14.04 average per carry/ 193.8 yards per game/ 12 touchdowns

Tackles:

189 total/ 75 assists/ 52.8 tackles per game

Sacks:

11.5 sacks/ 2.3 sacks per game

Defensive:

2 interceptions/ 3 fumble recoveries/ 87 fumble recovery yards/ 1 PAT block/ 2 blocked field goals.

Scoring:

153 total points/ 30.6 points per game/ 5 PAT/ 23 touchdowns/ 2 two-point conversions

Individual Stats

Passing:

R.J. Williams: 185.6 Yards per Game/ 4.8 Points per Game/ 928 Yards/ 12 Passing Touchdowns/ .670 Completion Percentage

Rushing:

R.J. Williams: 64 Carries/ 467 Yards/ 4 Rushing Touchdowns

Qua Stocks: 13 carries/ 131 yards/ 10.08 Average Yards Per Carry/ 26.2 Yards per Game/ 1 Touchdown

Twan Terrell: 11 carries/ 110 yards/ 10.00 Average Yards per Carry/ 22.0 Yards per Game/ 2 Touchdowns

Cambrell Turner: 37 Carries/ 145 Yards/ 3.92 Average Yards per Carry/ 29.0 Yards per Game/ 2 Touchdowns

Receiving:

Xavier Niblet: 14 Receptions/ 117 Yards/ 8.36 Average Yards/ 29.3 Receiving Yards per Game/ 2 Touchdowns.

Mason Robinson: 4 Receptions/ 94 Yards/ 23.50 Average Yards/ 23 Receiving Yards per Game/ 1 Touchdown.

Qua Stocks: 21 Receptions/ 277 Yards/ 13.19 Average Yards/ 55.4 Receiving Yards per Game/ 2 Touchdowns.

Deo Adams: 12 Receptions/ 211 Yards/ 17.58 Average Yards/ 42.2 Receiving Yards per Game/ 4 Touchdowns.

Twan Terrell: 11 Receptions/ 207 Yards/ 18.82 Average Yards/ 41.4 Receiving Yards per Game/ 2 Touchdowns.

Josh Young: 1 Reception/ 32 Yards/ 32 Average/ 10.7 Receiving Yards per Game/ 1 Touchdown. 

Defensive:

Chandler Royal: 17 Tackles/ 8 Assists/ 5.0 Tackles per Game/ 2.5 Sacks/ .5 Sacks per Game

Dino Dorris: 18 Tackles/ 6 Assists/ 4.8 Tackles per Game

Xavier Hendricks: 6 Tackles: 5 Assists/ 2.2 Tackles per Game

Robert Monford: 7 Tackles/ 5 Assists/ 3.0 Tackles per Game

Brandon Thompson: 13 Tackles/ 8 Assists/ 4.2 Tackles per Game

Shelby Townsend: 29 Tackles/ 8 Assists/ 7.4 Tackles per Game/ 2.5 Sacks/ .5 Sacks per Game

Jacob Chastain: 16 Tackles/ 5 Assists/ 4.2 Tackles per Game/ 3.5 Sacks per Game/ .7 Sacks per Game

Trey Thompson: 13 Tackles/ 4 Assists/ 4.3 Tackles per Game/ 1 Interception

Isaiah Ross: 22 Tackles/ 9 Assists/ 6.2 Tackles per Game/ 1 Interception

Clint Lemon: 9 Tackles/ 5 Assists/ 2.8 Tackles per Game/ 1 Sack

Dontrell Lampton: 10 Tackles/ 4 Assists/ 4.7 Tackles per Game/ 1 Sack

Stats through the Forsyth Central game on Sept. 24