The Woodland Wildcats (0-1) kicked off the 2023 high school football season by losing to the East Paulding Raiders (1-0) by a score of 49-0.

East Paulding received the opening kickoff, but Woodland cut the Raiders’ first drive short as Isaiah Livesey caught an interception. Unfortunately, the Wildcats’ offense couldn’t move the ball much after the takeaway, and they were forced to punt. After a rough first drive, East Paulding made sure to put some points on the board, faking a handoff and then throwing a touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Woodland’s second drive was uneventful, and the Wildcats were forced to punt again. However, East Paulding muffed the punt, and the Wildcats recovered the ball, regaining possession late in
the first quarter. After converting a huge fourth down, Woodland was in a position to potentially tie the game.

Unfortunately, they fumbled, and East Paulding recovered, regaining possession in the second quarter. The Raiders took advantage of the turnover, following it up with a five-yard rushing touchdown to take a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter. There wasn’t much action for the rest of the half, and East Paulding took its double-digit lead into halftime.

East Paulding continued to build upon its lead in the third quarter, scoring on a 66-yard passing touchdown to go up 21-0 early in the third quarter. The Raiders didn’t stop there, though, and later in the quarter, they faked a hand-off and threw a touchdown pass to take a 28-0 lead. Woodland continued to struggle on offense, and East Paulding made them pay, completing a 40-yard passing touchdown on 4th and 10 to extend its lead to 35-0. The Raiders continued to pile on, scoring consecutive rushing scores. a long rushing touchdown. At last, East Paulding’s scoring barrage was over, and the Raiders won 49-0. With this loss, Woodland opens up the 2023 high school football season with an 0-1 record.

Next week, the Wildcats will travel to Rome to take on the Coosa Eagles on Bartow Sports Zone 2. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM.