The writing is on the wall for the Woodstock football team.

The Wolverines, who are 8-1 overall and 7-1 in Region 5AAAAA, have equaled their win total from a year ago, locked up back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in school history and will host a first-round playoff game for only the second time.

Woodstock has lived up to the expectations it set for itself following an emotional season that saw the Wolverines advance to the quarterfinals of the 2008 state playoffs. It all began in the wee hours of Aug. 1 with a "midnight madness" celebration to begin fall practice, and will continue Friday with the team's final regular-season home game against region foe East Paulding.

"This season has been pretty special," Woodstock coach Mike O'Brien said. "Our coaches have just done a great job getting these players ready week after week, and the kids have responded to what we've been trying to teach them. That makes this year so much fun because of that."

East Paulding (5-4, 4-4) needs a victory and losses from both Cherokee and Harrison to make the playoffs. Woodstock, win or lose, will be the No. 2 seed out of the region.

The scenarios are the reverse of when the two teams played each other in last year's regular-season finale. To clinch its postseason berth, Woodstock needed to win at East Paulding, which it did.

Of all the historical milestones reached this season, the Wolverines can nab one more with a win Friday. A victory would give Woodstock nine wins for the first time in school history.

"Nine wins hasn't been done before here," O'Brien said. "We've reached eight a few times, including last year, but never nine. That's the thing I've been trying to get this team to understand. Nine wins is just a stepping stone to even bigger things.

"'How do you want to be remembered?' 'How do you want to leave your mark at Woodstock?' The kids have taken to that and are trying to get as many wins as possible this season. They've been very focused, and they've practiced hard each day to reach their goals."

O'Brien added that reaching nine wins would add a lot of excitement to the community. With it also being the final game of the regular season, the veteran coach is hoping his team can head into next week's first-round playoff game with Dacula carrying a lot of momentum.

"It would be great for the community (to get nine wins)," O'Brien said. "It shows that the program is advancing and is on its way to becoming a consistent playoff contender."

Much of the credit to the team's success has come from its defense, which is the stingiest in the region.

The Wolverines have allowed an average of only nine points per game this season. The next-closest squad, Towne Lake rival Etowah, has given up twice as many points - 18 - on average this season. Woodstock also has four shutouts to its credit and has allowed more than 15 points in a game only once, its 37-31 loss to McEachern in Week 3.

"Our defensive coaches just keep putting together great game plans for these kids every week," O'Brien said. "The players understand it, and they execute it. We've been good offensively, but sometimes, the offense can slow down a bit and we aren't able to get as much production as we'd like, but when they do slow down, our defense really steps it up even more."