Woodstock's football team has gotten stubborn since making a surprise run to last year's Class AAAAA state quarterfinals - at least on the defensive side of the ball.

The Wolverines (5-1, 4-1 in Region 5AAAAA) are giving up just 10.8 points a game and that number would've been significantly lower had McEachern not scored 37 points on them in their only loss. Woodstock recorded shutouts over Kell and Marietta and yielded a combined 17 points against Etowah and North Cobb.

Wolverines coach Mike O'Brien said his 5-2 defensive scheme is designed to stop both the run and pass, and its strength is stopping whatever opposing teams do best.

In Woodstock's 21-7 win Friday over North Cobb, the Wolverines held North Cobb running back C.J. Best to just 32 yards, forcing the Warriors to throw the ball. In a 17-10 victory at Etowah, Woodstock prevented quarterback Braden Nolan from being a major factor and he was held to just 55 yards running and 52 yards passing.

"We're trying to take away what (other teams) do best," O'Brien said. "We're at least making it harder for teams to do what they want to do, and we're not going to let them do what they want to do.

Defense has been essential in all four of Woodstock's wins this season. Quarterback Kevin Bolak and running backs Carlos Davis and Tanner Skogen can score, but Woodstock isn't known for scoring an abundance of points.

"We just have to be more consistent overall," O'Brien said. "We do a great job on defense, but, sometimes, we give up the big play. We can throw it and run it (on offense), but sometimes we turn the ball over. Consistency on offense and defense is something we need to improve on."

Etowah (4-2, 3-2) is a game behind Woodstock in the region standings, but is coming off arguably its biggest victory of the season, a 31-10 win over East Paulding.

Nolan has been a pleasant surprise for Etowah ever since returning quarterback James Harris quit football to pursue baseball. The young signal-caller already has 615 passing yards and four touchdowns on the season, plus 275 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

The Eagles are built around the running game and take advantage of the size they have on the offensive line.

Also in Region 5AAAAA, Cherokee's offense has made strides this season, but its defense is the reason the Warriors broke a 15-game losing streak last week when they shut out North Cobb, 12-0. Cherokee (1-4, 1-3) held North Cobb to just 46 rushing yards.

Cherokee can also make plays offensively. It outgained Harrison and Marietta earlier in the season, but couldn't make the plays down the sretch and had to settle for losses.

Sequoyah's defense has also been solid this season. The Chiefs have yet to give up more than 21 points in a game, and that was against Hillgrove's triple-option offense. Sequoyah has allowed an average of 15.8 points a contest.

On Friday, the Chiefs shut down Dalton's offense en route to a 38-16 victory in a pivotal Region 7AAAA (A) road win. The majority of the Catamounts' season-low points came when the game was already out of reach.

Sequoyah (3-2, 2-0) is also coming into its own on offense. Running back Dalton Trevino had one of his better games on the ground Friday with 148 yards on 11 carries.

Creekview, after losing a wealth of seniors who helped launch the program as freshmen in 2005, entered the '09 campaign with more questions than answers.

Coach Al Morrell said quarterback Cody Allen has been a pleasant surprise for the Grizzlies (4-1, 3-1 in Region 7AAA). Allen completed five of seven passes for 74 passing yards and three touchdown tosses in the Grizzlies' 51-14 rout of Johnson on Friday.

Hunter Livingston has picked up right where he left off for Creekview after a broken leg sidelined him for half of last season. He posted 112 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns against Johnson.

But Morrell is wanting more consistency on both sides of the ball, especially on defense.

"We haven't been as consistent on defense," he said. "We would put three good games together and then have a couple of rough ones against Flowery Branch and North Hall."