When Woodland looks across the football field at Forsyth Central on Friday night, it will see a team with many similarities.

The Bulldogs (0-3 in 7-AAAA) are looking for their first win of the season and they keep playing until the clock sounds, never giving up.

"They're in the same boat we are," Steve Hamilton, Woodland head coach, said. "They haven't won a game this year. They've been competitive with the teams they've played."

Hamilton sees one difference, but it's a big one and one the Wildcats (0-4 in 7-AAAA) are familiar with.

"They are a big team, big and physical," the Wildcat coach said. "That's always a tough matchup for us."

Central also has good quarterback play and Hamilton said one of Woodland's priorities will be to force the ball into the hands of others on the team.

"They have been doing a lot with him and we have to force them to let others try to beat us," he said.

The teams have played two of the same foes thus far, with Forsyth doing a little better in the scoring differential.

The Bulldogs played the Rome Wolves on Friday night, falling in that contest, 24-9. It lost to South Forsyth, 41-20.

Woodland lost those matchups, 34-14 and 56-19, respectively.

Hamilton is expecting big things from Forsyth Central.

"They are a Wing-T team, like most of the teams in our area," he said. "They don't look like they can outspeed us but they are so much bigger and more physical.

"We trying to get our kids to step up and play physical football with them."

Hamilton said the Wildcats must use their speed to help that case.

"We have a lot of players with track speed and so far we haven't been able to translate that speed to the physical play that's needed," he said.

Part of the reason has been the thin line of Wildcats.

That lack of significant depth for Woodland has been aggravated by injuries to its players.

Among the missing in action thus far are Durante Scott, a defensive lineman whose leg was broken, and Brandon and Trey Thompson, the Wildcat twin players.

Brandon Thompson could return shortly but the prognosis isn't for such a quick return by Trey Thompson.

Hamilton also hopes for favorable news on when Austin Chadwick will be making his presence known.

"We said at the beginning of the year that we needed a season where everyone stayed healthy," he said. "We haven't seen that so far."

The upshot has been more experience for younger players.

"We're playing a lot of young players," he said.

Hamilton said their play has been uneven.

"We have played a couple of really good halves of football," he said. "We played a really good second half against Johns Creek last weekend and a first half against Rome."

He said the Wildcats should be dangerous when they put it all together.

"We got 519 yards last week, most in the second half," he said. "It's scary to think what we might have done if we had played four quarters. That's the challenge we face, to make it through four quarters."

Hamilton said the weather may play a role in that.

"Heat can hurt those who play both ways on the field," he said. "Hopefully the temperatures will be under 90 at some point and that will make a difference for us."

The Wildcats have been acquiring their real estate primarily via the ground route, relying on running back Cambrell Turner and quarterback Ashton Shelton.

Against Rome, they went the game without making a completion.

Last Friday, the ground game netted more than 400 yards -- with Shelton the leading gainer. The aerial route yielded about 100 yards for the Wildcats.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m.