Twenty-four minutes into this week’s Golden Empire League matchup in Solano County, the Woodland High School varsity football team appeared to be on its way to the first win of the 2024 season but it wasn’t in the cards.

The Wolves (0-8, 0-4 GEL) led 3-0 at halftime but lost versus Dixon (3-4, 2-1) by a final score of 21-3 on Friday night at Finney Field. Senior tight end and middle linebacker Brady Colbert described the defeat as “heartbreaking.”

“We’re coming out here 0-7, lead going into the half and kinda blew it away. I’ll ride with these boys 0-7 or 7-0 so it is what it is. Hopefully we can take our bye week seriously and at least win out,” Colbert explained. “We were a little bit cleaner in the first half. In the second half, everything got to us and they took advantage of it. It was a sloppy ball game and that’s how they usually end.

“Defensively, I think we had a good game holding them to zero points in the first half, especially coming off last week when we let up 56. Defensively, we stepped up this game. I’m proud of us, but we have a lot to work on.”

While the Rams were celebrating Homecoming weekend, Woodland was undermanned. Due to various injuries, the Wolves were without four starters in Week 8: junior quarterback Joe Abarca, senior running backs, Diego Bautista & Michael Diffenderffer, and junior wide receiver Dylan Ramirez.

“It’s amazing, these guys come out every single week and they work their tails off week in and week out. We made adjustments and stuck with the game plan defensively. Offensively, we have a lot of new stuff that we threw at these guys who had to step up. They were making plays out there and it was great to see,” said coach Dane Gallagher. “A lot of guys got reps and we were able to work a lot of people in. I love the fight, we were flying around on defense and we were better at tackling this week. Offensively, we made big plays and also marched down the field a bit. Penalties kind of got us in some drives.”

Dixon opened the game with a methodical drive that lasted 7:36. However, Woodland prevented the Rams from scoring with a 4th & goal stop at the 11-yard line. Dixon turned the ball over on downs following a dropped slant by junior WR Christian Alvillar-Torres.

Without Bautista and Diffenderffer, senior WR Joseph Cadotte Jr. became a “wideback” like Deebo Samuel Sr. and started in the backfield. On the Wolves’ first offensive play from scrimmage, Cadotte ran for 20 yards. Then he added a 6-yard rush before gaining another first down with a 15-yard gain on the ground. Woodland was ultimately forced to punt.

“I’m proud of Joseph Cadotte, he stepped up,” Colbert proclaimed. “We lost Diego and he was one of our key guys and the heart of this team. When we lost him, Joe ran the ball really well tonight and stepped up big time. Everything else, it’s next man up and we’ve got to keep fighting for wins.”

The Wolves immediately got the ball back in the red zone after junior cornerback Jason Shackleford forced a fumble by Dixon junior QB Colten Shipley, which was recovered by junior linebacker Trevor Zane at the 4-yard line. Woodland lost 6 yards on a fumbled snap and had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from junior kicker Giovanni Munoz to take a 3-0 advantage 61 seconds into the second quarter.

Cadotte ended the Rams’ next possession with an interception, channeling his inner Travis Hunter by contributing on both sides of the ball. Senior WR Jojo Quezada rushed for a first down to begin the drive but it stalled. On 4th & 16, Cadotte lined up at punter, pulled off a fake and rushed for 16 yards to move the chains. The Wolves went for it again on 4th & 1 with 3:03 left in the first half but a Cadotte rush was stuffed for a turnover on downs.

Woodland led 3-0 at halftime but Dixon scored 21-unanswered points to earn the victory.

“They made great adjustments at the half. They came out in a whole different style of defense. We saw it against a different team and didn’t expect them to jump into it. It really took away a lot of our running early on in that third quarter. Defensively, they just found some seams in our defense,” Gallagher explained. “We’re a little thin and have a lot of guys out. Guys were starting to get tired, they made adjustments to how they were blocking up front and were able to find the gaps.”

The Rams claimed the lead for good with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore RB Preston Zepeda with 6:42 remaining in the penultimate period. Zepeda set up the score with a 44-yard gainer and senior K Tyler Braun successfully converted the point after try. Senior RB Jackson Cummins ran for a 42-yard tuddy with 8:47 left but the PAT was no good. Shipley connected with Cummins for a 25-yard reception, then senior RB Russell Crain rushed for a 20-yard tuddy. Junior tight end Max Graef ran in the 2-point conversion to increase the advantage to 21-3 with 92 seconds remaining.

Junior QB Dylan Johns completed 8-of-18 attempts for 105 yards and 1 interception with 3 rushes for 8 yards. Cadotte recorded 108 all-purpose yards with 26 passing, 73 rushing on 13 carries and 9 receiving. Colbert contributed 68 AP yards with 54 receiving and 14 rushing. Quezada added 64 AP yards with 57 receiving and 7 rushing.

“Dylan Johns at quarterback got thrown into the mix with Abarca out. He really took the lead over there, made some great throws and reads,” Gallagher said. “Joseph Cadotte stepped up and played (tailback) for us with Diego and Diffy out. He knew he was in that role, asked for it over the weekend and really ran the ball hard in that first half to give us an opportunity to win.”

Defensively, three Wolves racked up double-digit tackles. Colbert led the way with a game-high 11 (4 solo) and 3 for a loss of yardage. Quezada and senior LB Keanu Chaidez each had 10. Junior defensive end Lincoln Twilley added 7 (1 solo) with 1 TFL. Cadotte, Shackleford and Zane respectively recorded 4.

“I had a couple mistakes on offense as far as bad reads and running the ball. Other than that, I was running the play they line up and nothing special on offense. I was doing my job and wish I could’ve done more,” Colbert recalled. “We need to take care of each other, really make sure we heal our wounds and work a little more on discipline. Penalty yardage got to us tonight. Rather than expanding, we need to work on our bread and butter to sharpen that up.

“We want to win out for the seniors and the boys next to us. It’s not fun losing every game and we’d like to change it. If we win out, it’ll set our juniors up well going into next year.”

Woodland has a bye next Friday and will return Oct. 25 for a GEL road game at Rio Linda. The Wolves host Senior Night on the first evening of November against El Camino to conclude the campaign. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

“Getting healthy is first and foremost. Next thing, just keep the fight and that energy going. Other than that, we’re going to keep pealing away and working to get that first W,” Gallagher foretold. “We need to keep grinding and have some fun out there. A lot of these guys will never play football again in three weeks so I’m going to emphasize having fun, fly around and let’s enjoy these last few weeks together as a team.”