Special teams proved vital once again as Woodstock outlasted Dacula, 24-7, on Friday in a first-round Class AAAAA state playoff game at the Wolverine Den

Wolverine quarterback Kevin Bolak completed eight of his nine passing attempts for 92 yards, and the special teams added two more scores, to put Woodstock in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs for the second straight year. The Wolverines (10-1) will travel to North Gwinnett, which beat Centennial in its first-round game, next week.

Woodstock coach Mike O'Brien said it felt great to be headed back to the second round and credited his assistants and players with much of the work.

"We practice all that with the punt return, punt block and everything," O'Brien said. "Special teams is always big - especially in the playoffs. We screwed up early in the game, on both offense and defense, but we got it back together."

It was actually the punt-coverage team that jump-started Woodstock's productivity. The Wolverines' defense pushed Dacula (7-4) back for a 7-yard loss and forced the Falcons to punt from their own 34 on fourth-and-17.

Woodstock further capitalized on the play by blocking the punt attempt by Dacula's Morgan Loyd. Alex Kops recovered the ball for the Wolverines and returned it 24 yards for the game's opening score with 4:07 left in the first quarter. The point-after by Jonathan Weiner made it 7-0.

After forcing Dacula to punt on its next series, the Wolverines' offense took its turn with the ball. On a series that spanned the first and second quarters, Woodstock moved the ball 78 yards on 11 plays. The drive nearly stalled on the Dacula 35, but the Wolverines elected to go for it on fourth-and-2.

Not only did Tanner Skogen come through with a 6-yard run to extend the drive, but the Falcons were penalized for a personal foul on the play, moving the ball up to the 20.

Two plays later, the Wolverines were in the end zone again as Michael Seymour caught a 17-yard pass from Bolak. Weiner's kick was good, giving Woodstock a 14-0 lead.

Dacula used the remaining 7 minutes of the first half to assemble its only scoring drive of the night. Quarterback Anderson Agudelo connected with Jack Brown for a 23-yard pass on the 14-play drive, which was sustained by a pass interference call against the Wolverines.

Brown's 21-yard touchdown scamper on a third-and-20 capped the drive before Chase Loyd's extra point made it 14-7 before Woodstock ran one final play to expire the first-half clock.

Near the end of the scoreless third quarter, Woodstock's offense got moving again. After taking possession on the 50, the Wolverines needed just six plays to double their lead.

Alternating runs by Carlos Davis and Tanner Skogen moved the ball up to the Falcon 20. From there, it was Bolak connecting with Evan Wilson for the 20-yard score. Weiner's kick with 10:36 remaining in the game made it 21-7.

Weiner added a 25-yard field goal with 2:02 left after Cory Santiago intercepted a Agudelo pass near midfield and returned it to the Falcons' 42.

Skogen led Woodstock with 46 yards on 12 carries, while Trevor Bagwell caught two passes for 37 yards. Bolak, who connected with five different receivers, said the win was a team effort.

"The line protected me all night," he said. "I just made my reads and my throws and my receivers caught it."