By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer | garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
For the Woodruff football team, it was a crushing end to a special season.
At home, in front of a packed house, the Wolverines fought until the bitter end before finally running out of steam against the 3A No. 1-ranked Belton-Honea Path, falling to the Bears 34-3 to end their season with an 11-2 record and a region championship.
On a night when the offense could never find its football, the defense stood toe-to-toe with BHP in a superhuman effort that kept the game within reach until the fourth quarter. In fact, it was such a Herculean effort that Woodruff led 3-0 until the final seconds of the first half.
The Wolverines held the Bears to just 106 total yards in the first half, forcing two punts and a failed fourth-down conversion.
Woodruff claimed the lead in the interim, with junior kicker Diego Tranquilino knocking through a 25-yard field goal with 8:27 remaining in the second quarter. It appeared the Wolverines would get one more stop and take that slim lead into halftime, but a pass interference call on fourth and six gave BHP new life at the Wolverines’ 21-yard line, and five plays later, M.J. Earl scored from one yard out with 18.4 seconds on the clock to give the Bears a 7-3 halftime lead.
From there, it was all Belton-Honea Path in the second half.
The Bears held the Wolverines to just 62 yards and three first downs after halftime. After spending much of the night on the field, an exhausted Woodruff defense could finally do no more.
BHP quarterback Noah Thomas connected with Jaden Glenn on a 47-yard screen pass for the Bears’ second touchdown of the night for a 13-3 lead after three quarters. Earl then punctuated two more drives with his second and third scores of the night to up that lead to 27-3 and effectively put the game out of reach.
The final blow came on an interception return for the last score.
It was an unceremonious end for Woodruff’s best team in 14 years. The 2025 Wolverines won a region championship for the first time since 2015 and, along the way, gave fans a multitude of memorable moments.
Shaun ‘War Daddy’ Graybill finished the game with 20 tackles, a new single-game Woodruff record, and led all 3A with 141 tackles, also a new Woodruff single-season record.
His 300 career tackles and 44 tackles for loss are both career records.
Aiden Gibson, the Wolverines’ all-world junior running back, finished with 1,611 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in 11 games. Junior quarterback Connor Davis racked up 2,554 passing yards and 30 scores. Sophomore receiver Curtis Bell led the way in that department, with 492 yards. He was among five Woodruff receivers with 300 or more receiving yards on the season.
Woodruff will return the bulk of its offense in 2026, with Gibson, Davis, Bell, and four starters on the offensive line returning. Defensively, though, the Wolverines graduate 10 starters and must rebuild that side of the ball.
The 2025 season was yet another positive step in a program returning to statewide prominence, but for the 25 seniors on the roster, it was yet another painful end to a season that ended just within sight of the ultimate prize.
Author: gmitchell85
