Joey Vicary laid on his back at the 18-yard line, the North Forsyth quarterback’s eyes skyward, his thoughts undoubtedly on a teammate lying in an Atlanta hospital.

The most emotional of weeks for the Raiders culminated Friday night with a tough 7-0 defeat by Woodstock at Raider Valley Stadium.

But even in the moments after the Raiders fell short in the home opener, thoughts remained locked on senior offensive lineman Josh Haddock.

“It’s been tough,” North Forsyth senior linebacker Quinton Riley said. “A lot has happened.”

Haddock, the Raiders’ starting right tackle, collapsed at practice Wednesday. That night, the 17-year-old underwent emergency surgery to relieve bleeding around his brain at an Atlanta hospital.

As he remained in critical condition Friday night, his teammates played on, fighting through their emotions and battling to the end.

The Raiders (1-1) just couldn’t gain ground against a solid Woodstock defense, finishing with just 68 yards of total offense.

But other than a second-quarter touchdown, the Raiders’ defense was just as good, holding the Wolverines’ offense to 125 yards.

“We played well enough on that side of the ball for us to win tonight, and win many more nights,” said North Forsyth head coach Jared Zito of his defense, which has allowed 10 points in two games so far.

Even though Haddock wasn’t there, his name and No. 56 were all over the stadium.

* On fences surrounding the field, signs read: “Fight for Josh” and “Pray for Josh.”

* On the Woodstock side of the field there was a banner, “Be Strong, Josh. WHS Cares.”

* On the fronts and backs of North Forsyth fans, T-shirts carried the messages “Get It for Josh” and “Pray for Josh.”

* Youth football players and cheerleaders from Bennett Park wore white ribbons in Haddock’s honor.

Vicary carried Haddock’s No. 56 jersey onto the field before the game.

Then, he and Nick Saponara brought the jersey to midfield for the pregame coin toss, drawing loud ovations from fans on both sides.

During a moving pregame ceremony, Haddock’s aunt Carla Goeckel thanked the community for its prayers and support.

In particular, she credited North Forsyth head athletic trainer Katie Lundy, who responded quickly when Haddock collapsed about 5 p.m. Aug. 25.

“All the doctors told us one to two minutes more, and Josh would not be with us today,” said Goeckel while Lundy wiped tears from her eyes.

More cheers and tears came minutes later, when Goeckel shared the sentences Haddock wrote Friday morning in his hospital room.

She said when her nephew realized it was Friday, he wrote, “Can I play again?”

Running on sheer emotion, his teammates put forth an inspired effort.

“For our team and our community, I could not ask for anything more from them from Wednesday through the fourth quarter,” Zito said. “The outpouring of support, the teamwork.

“I’m lucky to be their football coach.”

Following a scoreless first quarter, Woodstock (1-0) broke through in the first five minutes of the second quarter for the game’s only score.

An eight-play, 53-yard drive culminated in Tanner Skogen’s 3-yard touchdown run off right tackle with 7:27 left before halftime. Kevin Bolak’s extra point made it 7-0 Wolverines.

North Forsyth’s Tyler Slaton returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards down the left sideline, but a block in the back penalty wiped out the gain.

Held without a first down in the opening half, North Forsyth got something going in the third quarter.

Tyler Riddle picked up the Raiders’ first first down of the night three minutes into the second half on fourth-and-3 from the Raiders’ 49. But the drive stalled out at the Wolverines’ 35.

With nine minutes left, North Forsyth put together its best drive of the game, marching from its 12 to midfield. But once again, Woodstock stopped the 11-play drive, forcing a punt with 2:36 remaining.

North Forsyth’s last gasp came with 90 seconds to go, but a fumbled snap at the Woodstock 43 squirted away, Johnny Clark recovering for the Wolverines with 58.5 seconds left.

One week after rushing for 233 yards in a 14-3 season-opening victory at Cherokee, the Raiders totaled just 72 yards rushing on 33 carries.

Even after the difficult week, filled with prayer vigils for Haddock and trips to the hospital and leaning on each other, Riley said the Raiders gave it their best.

“We wish he could be here,” Riley said. “We had to come out and be focused and fight on through.”