In 2008, Woodstock made its first appearance in the playoffs and tied a school record with eight wins.

The Wolverines were just getting started.

This past season, Woodstock set a new record with a 10-win season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before falling to North Gwinnett. Averaging 25 points per game, the team was held to fewer than 10 points just once this season, while the defense posted four shutouts.

For his efforts leading the team this season, Woodstock's Mike O'Brien is the 2009 Cherokee Tribune Football Coach of the Year.

"I think he's a deserving fellow," said Cherokee High School coach Brian Dameron, who has coached against O'Brien regularly since 2003. "What he has done at Woodstock since he arrived on the scene is just a tribute to his demeanor and how he handles kids and how he handles coaches. He has done a wonderful job coaching the kids, the coaches and the community into a winning program."

O'Brien, also the '08 Coach of the Year, said he was particularly honored to win the award this season as the level of competition in the county was so high.

"I feel real good about (winning the award) because the county has really stepped it up in football," he said. "There are so many real fine head coaches and assistant coaches at all the schools. It's an honor to represent them and represent this county because of the way the county has been playing football."

In 2009, three Cherokee County schools - Woodstock, Etowah and Creekview - reached the playoffs in their respective classifications. After a winless season in 2008, Cherokee finished with a 4-6 record and Sequoyah was in playoff contention for most of the season before losing two of its final three games.

Going back to 2008, four of the county's five varsity programs reached the playoffs.

"There are so many good coaches," Dameron said. "I don't envy having to make the Coach of the Year decision. Coach (Al) Morrell does a fabulous job (at Creekview), so does Bill Stewart over at Etowah. And coach O'Brien is certainly deserving of the award. It's not an easy task."

For O'Brien, being named the Coach of the Year this season was particularly meaningful because of what the team accomplished through hard work. It's an award he feels should be shared with his assistant coaches and players.

"I'm really proud of what our coaches and our athletes have done this season," he said. "I think the hardest thing for (the players) to understand was that you had to do well consistently, each and every week. It couldn't be an up-and-down deal. You had to be ready to play each and every week and they did that."

As O'Brien prepares to graduate many of the players that helped make the Wolverines what they were this season, he knows that another class will come, and it will be up to them to carry on the growing tradition of success at Woodstock.

"It's all about next year's bunch and if they will play as hard and consistently as the ones that have graduated," O'Brien said. "This year, we were fortunate enough with the ones that took over after last year's seniors graduated."

The veteran coach says he hasn't thought about how long he will remain at Woodstock, but said that he would love to keep the role as long as he is contributing to the team's success.

"I'm not looking to go anywhere else," he said. "Cherokee County is a great place to be."