WALL, TX-- In small communities, you see a lot of the same things. That includes opponents in different high school sports.
The no. 6-ranked Wall Hawks and no. 2-ranked Brock Eagles are set to square off in one final clash in the 2017-2018 school year.
“It definitely seems like, since [Brock] moved to Region I, we’ve crossed paths to get where we want to go every year,” said Wall head coach Jason Schniers. “We’ve created a pretty good rivalry between the two schools in all sports. When we’re playing each other, it means we’ve done something right to get the opportunity to play each other.”
Brock moved to Region I in 2014.
This series will mark the second time in as many years that the two teams have squared off in the playoffs.
Brock is known for their success on the field. The Eagles have won a total of 16 athletic State Championships since 2002. In 2006, the Eagles took home the Class 2A title.
“It’s always a battle, a true test to see who goes on,” Schniers said. “We bring out the best in each school, I think, because they’ll give us everything we want and hopefully we’ll give them everything they want. It usually just comes down to the team that executes the best.”
During the football season, Brock knocked the Hawks out of the playoffs with a 29-10 result in the regional semifinals and the seniors for Wall are relishing another chance at their rival.
“We’ve been looking forward to this series all year,” said Brock Rosenquist. “We knew it was most likely going to be us two coming into [the playoffs.] They’re always a good team. They have been in football and baseball. It’s always a fun competition. There’s never really any hard feelings when the series ends or the game ends. It’s just two class acts battling each other.”
Rosenquist was the quarterback for the Hawks this past season.
“[The rivalry] is important to every kid on the team,” said Hawk senior and former kicker Mitch Horton. “It’s been back-and-forth every year in every sport. We were excited in football, but came up a little short, so we want to get back at them in baseball.”
The two teams met last season during Wall’s run to the State Tournament, with Wall winning the series 2-1.
Those games were played at neutral sites in Abilene.
This year, the two teams will each get “home” playoff games with the series opening on Friday at Weatherford College, the future home of Ryan Gulley and Dryden Virden as well as the employer of WC head baseball coach Jeff Lightfoot, the father of Brock’s Cole Lightfoot. The Hawks will get their turn in familiar territory on Saturday when the two teams play on the turf of Angelo State University’s Foster Field at First Community Federal Credit Union Stadium.
“It’s going to be an excellent atmosphere,” Schniers emphasized. “We had to work around graduations, so that’s what we felt would work best for us. Both teams are going to have to handle the travel and they’re going to have to handle the heat this weekend, it looks like. It’s going to be an excellent atmosphere for both teams playing in the Regional Semifinals and that’s exactly what you want. You want the kids to have a great experience. You want fans to be able to support their team and that’s exactly what you want.”
While Virden has been the face of the Hawks’ dominant pitching in the postseason, Gulley, who has missed the entire season due to injury, has done every bit he can to help his team from the dugout.
“He’s a leader in the dugout for us,” Schniers said of Gulley. “He picks up on things that maybe we’re not seeing on the field. As I said earlier in the year when we first realized he wasn’t going to be able to be on the field with us, he’s going to provide in other ways. He’s smart enough and has the capability to help out like an assistant coach. He gets the guys going in the dugout and he’s done exactly what we’ve asked of him.”
Gulley was slated to be the Hawks’ ace in 2018 before his injury.
The Hawks and Eagles will start the series at 1 p.m. in Weatherford on Friday before turning around for a 3 p.m. game in San Angelo on Saturday.
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