After four long years without a playoff berth, the Woodland High School football team enjoyed a resurgence in 2025 under second-year head coach Dane Gallegher, finishing with an impressive 4-2 record in the Golden Empire League and clinching a postseason berth in the newly formed CIF Sac-Joaquin Section bowl game system.
To earn that postseason spot, the Wolves improved from a 1-5 GEL run out from the year before to winning four straight league games this year over Natomas, Rio Linda, Dixon, and El Camino on the team’s Senior Night. The losses came at the start of league play to GEL powerhouses Sutter and Casa Roble.
While the Wolves missed out on the actual CIF SJS D5 playoff bracket, they still managed to qualify for the teams first ever bowl game. Unfortunately, they would fall on the road to Wood by the score of 33-12.
Woodland bounced back from a brutal start to the season, which included a gauntlet schedule featuring heavyweights such as Lincoln, Wheatland, and crosstown foes Woodland Christian and Pioneer. Then, they followed up those losses with the class of the GEL in Sutter and Casa Roble.
At 0-6, Woodland found themselves eerily close to last season’s situation, where they held out until the final game to finally get that first win to finish 1-9. This year, however, things were different as the Wolves dramatically came back on the road to defeat Natomas 26-21, clinching their first win of the season on Oct. 3.
Following that win, the Wolves were able to enjoy the rhythms of a season, with both wins and losses under their belts, rather than being on a relentless, desperate search for that first win to reward the team’s seniors. The wins then became contagious as the Wolves ran off three straight to end the year with a berth in a postseason bowl game.
“We were excited to see the boys buy in and fight late into the year,” Gallagher said. “Struggling early can be difficult, but it says a ton about how our players and coaches responded and battled every week to improve and keep the fight alive. Once we got that first win against Natomas, the team had new energy and a no-quit mentality; we were hungry. We came back late in two of those wins vs Dixon and Rio Linda and proved what we could do. The bowl game was a great experience, and we were excited for the opportunity to play another game.”
As a reward for such a fantastic year, the Wolves lit up the postseason awards list, racking up six GEL All-League nods for seniors Lincoln Twilley, Joe Abarca, and Jacob Ceja, juniors Shayaan Khan and Jonathan Morales, and sophomore Cohen Dwyer, along with six other second-team selections for seniors Antonio Lopez and Trevor Zane, juniors Cash Harrison, Alex Van Dam, Israel Ruiz and sophomore Jeremiah Gonzalez.
Abarca led a high-powered offense to great heights during his time as the Wolves’ signal caller, setting a laundry list of both career and season records on his way to his first team all-league nod.
During his senior season, Abarca set school single-season records in pass yards (2,347), pass attempts (339), and pass completions (186), completing another school record 26 in a game.
He will also graduate in the summer as the school’s all-time leader in touchdowns (48), passing yards (4,470), attempts (717), and completions (371).
“Joe stepped up in so many ways for us this last year,” Gallagher reflected. “These last two years, it was amazing seeing him progress. When you’re a senior, you tend to find that extra gear, and he did just that for us. We never felt we were out of any game with him. He truly became a student of the game and developed. Roque (offensive coordinator) and he seemed to always be on the same page and trust one another. Joe earned everything he got this year, and surpassing years of amazing QB’s that have come through this program over its history is a testament to that. He will be missed, that’s for damn sure.”
Twilley and Ceja were linchpins at their respective spots, helping dominate the trenches for the Wolves on their way to all-league selections, and will be sorely missed.
Ceja led the way for the Wolves with 9 recorded pancake blocks and chipped in on defense with 3 solo tackles. Twilley picked up 11 tackles and came in second on the team in sacks with 3. On offense, Twilley also racked up 7 clutch receiving touchdowns to go with 48 catches for 500 yards.
“They are going to be tough to replace, that’s for sure,” Gallagher said. “But they set the tone as seniors often do and laid the standard for our juniors and upcoming sophomores. We have a lot of beef coming up, but Twill and Ceja were amazing leaders, and I can’t stress enough how proud I am of them these last two years.”
Lopez and Zane will also graduate in June with second-team selections under their belts, while Harrison, Van Damn, Gonzalez, and Ruiz will join Khan, Morales, and Dwyer as first or second-team selections set to return to next year’s squad.
Lopez finished third on the team with 27 tackles, while Zane ended the year with 6 tackles and 2 sacks. Khan led the defense with 43 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles, while Harrison racked up 30 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Gonzales had 14 solo tackles and an interception.
Dwyer had a breakout season at wide receiver, leading the team in receiving yards (1081), catches (71), and touchdowns (9), while Van Dam led the team in rushing yards with 378 to go with 3 rushing scores.
“Oh, we are excited to bring all of these guys back next season, that’s for sure,” Gallagher said. “These young men all have amazing work ethic and live and breathe football. Having this many talented returning players is a blessing, and we expect them to step up and be leaders on and off the field. A good foundation is an understatement regarding this crew.
Over the summer, we need to work and develop. We feel we can continue to grow as a program. We just have to put in the time and effort. We made great strides last year, but fine-tuning some things both offensively and defensively, so we can start fast, is the ultimate goal this offseason. We want to come out of the gates how we finished last season, ready to compete with anyone.”