Resurgent Hawks Ready for Rivalry Clash with Jim Ned

WALL, TX-- The Wall Hawks are getting ready for their 36th gridiron meeting all-time with Tuscola Jim Ned.

Historically, this game favors the Hawks who hold a 24-11 advantage in the series. The Hawks have won the last four meetings by a combined score of 225-57, including the 52-21 romp at San Angelo Stadium in the Area Round of the 2017 playoffs.

“In football, it used to be a pretty big rivalry,” head coach Houston Guy said. “We hadn’t seen them in a while. We’ve been in different districts and hadn’t matched up. We got ‘em in the playoffs last year. We had a really good game against ‘em… They’re 5-1, so I feel they’re one of the premier teams in this district.”

Guy feels he's still going to get Jim Ned's best in their 2018 clash and being able to overcome that for a win would go a long way to their quest for an eighth-straight district championship.

However, that 2017 result means very little considering the fact most of the players in that 2017 meeting for the Hawks graduated.

All that meeting means Guy and his staff have familiarity with Jim Ned. Since taking over in 2007, Guy has a 5-1 record against the Indians.

“For the coaches, it’s pretty easy,” Guy said. “For the kids, most of them didn’t play against Jim Ned last year. Most of the kids who played against ‘em graduated. So, these guys are all facing a new defense and a new offense for Jim Ned. It’s one of those things we’re trying to prepare them for all over again.”

While they’ve met sparingly on the football field over recent years, the teams are familiar with each other from other sports. Because of that rivalry nature, the Hawks want to defend their home turf.

“This is a home game and we don’t lose at home,” said junior quarterback Mason Fuchs. “This is a big district game. It’s probably going to mean something till the very end. We need to capitalize on this week.”

After opening the season 0-2, Wall has gotten back on track thanks to their offense getting back to their potent rushing attack with the likes of Chase Rios, Kye Herbert and Mason Kindle accenting the play from Fuchs and senior fullback Sutton Braden.

“Each week, we’ve gotten better in practice,” Fuchs said. “We’ve all just kinda meshed together better. Blocking has gotten a lot better since week 1. It’s always fun to throw, but we have to get back to our run game. It’s what really makes us work.”

The unselfish nature of the Hawks’ backfield is what has taken their rushing attack to the next level, Fuchs said.

“They really don’t care who has the ball,” Fuchs added. “They’re gonna go block for each other. That’s the triple option. Three people can get it any time.”

Heading into a district championship-like game, being at full strength is a big key to winning, especially for a young team like Wall.

“We’re getting some guys back who have been on injured reserve and that’s exciting,” Guy said. “Going into the Clyde game, we had a few key starters that didn’t play. Anytime you miss those guys and the leadership they bring to your team, you feel like you’re missing some key components… Going into a game like this where the district championship is on the line, you need guys like that.”

The Hawks host Jim Ned this Friday at 7:30 p.m.