North Paulding pulls away from Wheeler

DALLAS -- Braden Stark threw for 238 yards and five touchdowns as Wheeler was no match against Region 5AAAAAAA champion North Paulding, capping off a disappointing 2026 season with a 45-7 loss at Wolfpack Stadium Friday night.

With nothing to lose, Wheeler (0-10, 0-7) attempted several trick plays, and blitzed often defensively against a Wolfpack team that didn’t seem intent on establishing the run. The Wildcats stayed close with North Paulding (8-2, 7-0) for the majority of the first half. However, it was special teams miscues that found themselves trailing 24-7 at halftime.

The Wolfpack ,who clinched their second region championship in five seasons with a dominating 41-0 victory at Cherokee last Friday, turned the momentum in the favor with Micah Johnson’s 58-yard punt return advancing to the Wildcats 23-yard line. On the next play, North Paulding took full advantage of the field position, as Stark found Presley Carr for a touchdown to give the Wolfpack a 7-0 lead.

On the next North Paulding possession, they started at the Wheeler 44 after a 10-yard punt. Just like the previous possession, the Wolfpack only needed one play to get into the end zone. Stark completed a 44-yard pass to Jaden Scoggins to increase the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Wheeler cut the lead to 14-7 midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats capped off an 11-play, 80-yard drive when Octavian Morton caught a 2-yard pass from Patrick McCollough.

However, the celebration would be short lived. On the ensuing kickoff, Darian Smith returned the kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to give North Paulding a 21-7 lead.

Late in the first half, Wheeler’s fake-punt attempt on fourth-and-2 on their own 28 was unsuccessful as punter Greyson Arrigo took the deep snap and ran toward the first down marker. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, he was ruled a half-yard short of the first down marker. This sequence led to a 35-yard field goal by Easton Mowry right before halftime.

In the third quarter, North Paulding took a commanding 45-7 lead as Stark completed three more touchdown passes -- 34-yards to Paker Jordan, 57 yards to Carr, and 30 yards to Smith.

Despite Wheeler’s first winless season in 17 years, coach Travis Roland is optimistic about the future of the program as 17 sophomores got valuable experience for the Wildcats in 2026.

“We fought,” Roland said. “You got the referees asking how we’re 0-9, you got the chain crew asking the same question. That’s a testament to our coaches and the environment they put our kids in. We believe environment matters and relationships matter. We feel like the relationships we’ve built in the short amount of time has our program being able to complete with a region champion like we did. We don’t have the horses everybody’s got and the depth and it shows up in the second half. We’re going to be alright. Keep building, lock our fence, don’t let anybody out.”