Wall Hawks Defense Dominates the Regional Semi-Final

1st Quarter

Roosevelt received the opening kickoff and, after a good kick return, began the first drive at the Eagles’ 40-yard line. Wall’s defense was ready to play and stuffed any attempt to gain ground. Roosevelt went three-and-out and punted the ball away.

The Hawks’ took over at their own 42-yard line to begin their first offensive possession. On the first play from scrimmage, Nathan Pepper broke through for a 9-yard run. Two plays later, the Hawks hit their first explosive play when Hagyn Barbee took a toss to the left side and sprinted down the field for a 30-yard gain. Roosevelt tightened up following the big run and forced Wall into a 4th and 5 yards to go. The Hawks went for it early. Gunnar Dillard dropped back and hit Kellan Oliver for a 14-yard gain to move the chains. Oliver almost crossed into the end zone but came up just short. Pepper took the first down carry for a 1-yard touchdown one play later.

After Wall’s defense forced a turnover on downs, the Hawks made a mental mistake. Faced with a 3rd and eight at Wall’s 38-yard line, A miscommunication on the quarterback-runningback exchange put the ball on the turf. Lubbock Roosevelt fell on the ball quickly, and the Eagles took over at the Hawks’ 38-yard line.

2nd Quarter

The Hawks continued to play well on defense following the turnover. After giving up a single first down, Matthew Steen found his way into the backfield to tackle the Eagels for a loss. Another play that went nowhere set up a 3rd and forever. Roosevelt threw the ball on 3rd down for the first time all game, but the ball fell harmlessly to the turf amongst a sea of Wall defenders. The Eagles went for it again on 4th down, but Wall was ready once again. The offense took over at the 31-yard line.

The Hawks wasted no time as on the first play from scrimmage, Luke Kemp took a toss to the right side and left everyone in the dust on a 69-yard touchdown run. A penalty on the 2-point conversion moved Wall back to the 17-yard line, but it did not stop the Hawks. Dillard threw a beautiful ball to a wide-open Oliver for a 2-point conversion. Wall led 14-0 with 10:12 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

Another electric play from Wall’s defense gave the Hawks the ball back in the Eagles’ territory. Logan Thomas broke through the line on 4th down and blocked Roosevelt’s punt. Wall’s offense returned the favor with another fumble on the exchange on 2nd down. The sloppy play continued on both sides as Wall would fumble one more time before halftime. Roosevelt went on a drive with time winding down but failed to convert on 4th down on the Hawks’ end of the field. Wall headed to the locker room up 14-0 at the half.

3rd Quarter

Wall received the 2nd half kickoff, hungry to score another touchdown. A 15-yard penalty on the Eagles set the Hawks up at Wall’s 48-yard line. After an initial loss on 1st down, Pepper carried the ball on six straight carries to move the Hawks to the Eagles’ 25-yard line. A holding call disrupted the drive from there. Faced with a 4th and 11, Dillard threw a deep ball to Landon Beeles, who made an excellent catch to convert. In the next play, Dillard hit Beeles again for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Wall drained 5:55 off the 3rd Quarter and increased their lead to 21-0.

The Hawks forced another punt and began another offensive possession near the 40-yard line. It was the Nathan Pepper drive as the young man took almost every carry on the drive. Pepper highlighted his touches with a 34-yard run to put the ball inside Roosevelt’s 10-yard line. Two plays later, Pepper scored another touchdown. The Hawks took a 28-0 lead headed to the 4th Quarter.

4th Quarter

Wall’s defense forced its fourth turnover on downs on the Eagles' ensuing possession. On a second-down play-action pass, Dillard hit Hagyn Barbee in stride for a 41-yard touchdown. The Hawks increased their lead to 35 points with 11 minutes remaining in the fourth Quarter.

Down 35 points, Roosevelt had to start throwing the ball. On the Eagles' first pass attempt in the 4th Quarter, Hagyn Barbee made a tight rope catch on the sideline for the interception. The backups headed into the game at that point to run out the remaining time on the clock. Roosevelt managed to get into the end zone with less than four minutes to play, but the Hawks had the game well at hand.

San Angelo LIVE!’s Ryan Chadwick spoke with Logan Thomas after the massive victory over Lubbock Roosevelt. Watch the interview below:

The Hawks ran out the rest of the 4th Quarter to claim victory over Roosevelt 35-6. The talented defense led by Wall’s Four Horsemen almost pitched another shutout on the season, and the Hawks are the 2023 Regional Semi-final Champions.

Hawks’ Head Coach gave his thoughts on the Hawks’ performance after the game. Check out the Coach Guy below:

The Wall Hawks return to action next weekend to play the Canadian Wildcats. Time, date, and location are still to be determined. Canadian defeated Idalou earlier in the day on Friday 57-14.