written by: Crissy Froyd 
Villa Rica’s homecoming night couldn’t have gone better, as the Wildcats delivered their most complete performance of the season to do the night justice.
Their 42-3 win and full domination of the Woodland Wildcats from start to finish in every phase of the game marked a major bounceback from the brutal 58-0 shutout loss to Cartersville, and the Wildcats’ first victory since the 35-13 win over Seckinger on Sept. 11.
Villa Rica had some hiccups out of the gate on special teams and on defense on the first drive, allowing a huge kickoff return that brought Woodland deep into the red zone and set up a field goal that put the visiting Wildcats up 3-0 just two minutes into the game.
But that was the only true sign of life Woodland showed that night, as the tide immediately turned in the home team’s favor. On Villa Rica’s first possession, Josiah Walker caught a screen pass from quarterback Blaine Brown and hit the end zone, but the score was negated after a penalty.
Villa Rica would not be denied, though, as Emmanuel “EMan” Ajayi ultimately ended the drive with a touchdown out of none other than the Wildcat formation. Another 46-yard touchdown run (his 11th of the season) shortly after, on a nine-play, 95-yard drive, put Ajayi over 2,000 career rushing yards and extended the Villa Rica lead to 14-3 with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.
From there, Villa Rica’s up-tempo attack kept slicing and dicing through the Woodland defense. They got back on the board after Brown faked a screen and connected on a deep shot to Drew Jones, moving the chains and setting Villa Rica up for a 43-yard touchdown by Jason Hart.
Woodland gave Villa Rica a bit of grief that proved less than consequential when Jonathan Hart intercepted Brown on an overthrown pass, but Woodland couldn’t get any payoff off it and was forced to punt at the end of the drive.
And, just before halftime, Villa Rica hit back with yet another touchdown as Ajayi housed it on a 10-yard run to send Villa Rica into the locker room with a comfortable 28-3 lead.
Ajayi continued to explode in the second half as Villa Rica’s lead extended with a 22-yard touchdown off the receiver, and another score from him on an 87-yard score on a screen pass. That third-quarter touchdown would be the last time either team scored before the game went to a running clock in the fourth quarter.
But Villa Rica rubbed salt in the wound when Brysen Davis intercepted Woodland quarterback Sam Ray IV just as Woodland threatened near the Villa Rica end zone at the tail end of the third quarter.
Analysis And Looking Ahead
Villa Rica will look to stay on the right side of the win column as the Wildcats continue the season with a road matchup against the Allatoona Buccaneers.
The Wildcats have a lot of momentum to build on after playing arguably the most complementary football in recent program history, and they have a chance to carry it into the back end of the high school football regular season.
And there are a lot of things to like here.
Brown seemed to get the ball out of his hands with more confident decision-making as the passing game opened up most efficiently all season. Villa Rica also held stout in the trenches, with the defensive line proving the most impressive unit in the game, and the offensive line allowed Brown to play at a higher level than he’s been able to, giving him time to throw that he hasn’t necessarily had to this point.
It will be interesting to watch how things play out moving forward, with kickoff against Allatoona set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 9 at Cobb EMC Stadium.
