Photos Ivan Felipe
Woodland finished last season 3-7, 2-5 in the region. The region is nothing short of a gauntlet, but they were able to pick up two of their last three games to ride some momentum into this season.
“I think the biggest thing is learning the players and learning our system. We won 2 out of our last three, and we improved. Our kids really made a commitment and we went back to work. We had a really good offseason, with nine really good days of practice,” said Head Coach Andy Scott.
“From our kids’ standpoint, we focused on a lot of fundamentals. We, as a staff, noticed that we had to become a better fundamental team. Our kids really bought in, and the way we practice and workout is now all fundamentals. We need to be a little bit more consistent, and I think that we are improving upfront. It goes without saying, every win comes down to your line play and your secondary play.
The playoffs are an expectation and goal for the Woodland Wildcats. “We want to become a playoff caliber team. We play in one of the toughest regions in the entire state, and the expectation of our kids is to make the playoffs and that every single year, we are in contention for and competing in the postseason.”
Expect Woodland to have significant contributions from their upcoming sophomore class.“We made a commitment to play our best players. We will have the opportunity this year to start five to seven sophomores, and we have a really good group of 9-12 players. The majority of our returners are going to be sophomores who played good minutes.
Cam Collins will be back at defensive end, as well as Corbin Jarrett at linebacker and tight end. Solomon James has been getting recruited heavily at running back. Evan Torres returns and will contribute heavily at linebacker. RJ Martin and Clayton McCartle had a good spring and are expected to see a larger role at DB and receiver. Cooper Shedd, Aidan Holt, and Nathan Jenkins, will all be back and will anchor the offensive line. Cameron Broome has played really well during the summer. Cameron Quinn will play quick and early, as well as Traeshon Brown at defensive line. Mitchell Sheppard can fly, as well as Bryson Lowe, adding towards depth in the backfield.
For the Woodland Wildcats, everyone is upheld to the same accountability, regardless of grade.‘Everybody is on the same level. Our rising upperclassmen are no different than our seniors; model the way. The standard is the standard. Every single player is expected to live up to them; every one has to match that.”
“I love to see our kids work and compete, and see the fruits of their labor. We work extremely hard every day, and do all the little things that bring success. I hope that our kids are able to experience that success.”
With a lot of youth leaders and talent, look out for Coach Scott and his Wildcats to start making some waves in 25-26.
