Wheeler lost 41-14 at Etowah on Friday, Oct. 2, dropping to 0-5 under first-year head coach Travis Roland.

The Wildcats fell behind early at Eagle Mountain in Woodstock and never recovered, losing their second straight region game to open GHSA Region AAAAAAA play at 0-2. Etowah improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in region play with the homecoming victory.

Through five games, Wheeler has been outscored 234-65, according to MaxPreps. The Wildcats have not won since Roland was hired in January to replace Bryan Love, who went 3-7 in the 2025 season.

The losses have grown steeper. Wheeler opened with a 34-24 defeat to Campbell on Aug. 21, then fell 66-10 at Westlake on Aug. 28. A 44-14 loss to Harrison on Sept. 11 preceded a 49-3 region loss to Walton on Sept. 18.

"We must learn how to fight all game long," Roland said after the Etowah loss.

Etowah's offense made that fight one-sided. Junior running back Kingston Caesar rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries, and the Eagles held Wheeler to 14 total rushing yards, the Tribune Ledger News reported. Readers looking for a full play-by-play account of the game can find it there.

Senior quarterback Patrick McCollough provided Wheeler's offense. He threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to receiver Matthew Morris in the first quarter and connected with tight end Octavian Morton for a 36-yard score in the fourth, per the Tribune Ledger.

As we reported Oct. 2, McCollough entered the game with 568 passing yards and one touchdown on the season, while junior running back Javion Mangum had 453 rushing yards and two scores. Mangum and the ground game were bottled up against Etowah's defense.

Elsewhere on Oct. 2, Walton beat Marietta 56-42 and Lassiter routed River Ridge 52-14.

Wheeler travels to Paulding County on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. for another region game. The Wildcats then return home to face Cherokee on Oct. 16, North Cobb on Oct. 23 and Marietta on Oct. 30 before closing the regular season at North Paulding on Nov. 6.