Midway through the regular season, Woodstock coach Mike O'Brien can't help but smile a bit.

His Wolverines are 4-1 overall and 3-1 in Region 5AAAAA. The offense seems to be clicking and the defense has allowed more than 10 points in a game just once this season.

Woodstock also has some of the region's top teams behind it after losing to McEachern and beating Etowah. The Wolverines travel to Harrison (3-2, 3-1) tonight before facing three of the region's struggling teams - Kennesaw Mountain, Cherokee and South Cobb - down the stretch.

"We both (Woodstock and Harrison) have the same region records," O'Brien said. "It's still early in the season, but any time you are playing someone who's got the same record you do, it's tough. Harrison has always had a tough football team, and they've got another one this year. Our kids are aware of the importance of it and how good they are."

O'Brien said he isn't placing too much attention on which teams Woodstock has beaten, and which teams are yet to come. He is instead keeping his players focused on winning each game, no matter who the opponent is.

The Hoyas are coming off their bye week, which can go a long way toward putting a team back on track. That is exactly what Harrison coach David Hines would like to see tonight when his team takes the field.

The Hoyas dropped their last game two weeks ago to a previously winless Kennesaw Mountain team. Suffering their first region loss of the season put the Hoyas below undefeated McEachern and tied with Woodstock for second place in the region standings.

Hines says the week off allowed his team to heal many of its wounds and regroup for what could be a season altering game.

"All of (the games) are big in the region, because all the teams are fairly equal, except maybe McEachern," Hines said. "This is, obviously, a game we need to win, because we are both going to be 3-1 coming into it. If you keep winning, you control your destiny. If you keep losing, you are going to have to get some help down the road, so you have to try to control it as much as you can."

O'Brien doesn't feel his team has a disadvantage after having played without a break since the first week of the season. Rather, he sees the constant play as a blessing.

"Different people are different ways," he said. "I just don't like bye weeks myself. For us, it's about staying in a routine and, as long as you stay in a routine, things usually work out."

A run-oriented team, Woodstock will be a challenge for the Hoyas' defensive line. But like Harrison, the Wolverines don't have many standout players, but succeed through a total team effort.

"They're a lot like us," Hines said. "They are solid and they've got quality kids who play extremely hard. I think that is probably their biggest asset."

O'Brien said Harrison will be challenging for the same reasons.

"They don't have any one thing you can focus on," he said. "They'll utilize all their weapons. For us, we need to just keep our intensity level where it has been. We need to stay on that high to keep playing."