Wall Hawks Crack Top 10 in Initial Pre-Season Rankings

The Wall Hawks ended their season last year in the Regional Semifinal with a loss to Canadian 31-12. The Hawks finished with an 11-3 overall record in what would be long-time Head Coach Houston Guy’s final season. Wall introduced a new head coach, Craig Slaughter, in February after Guy and the Hawks parted ways. Guy rejoined the Wall Independent School District in a different capacity after he was elected to the school board in May. 

Slaughter was the former defensive coordinator for the Hawks’ defense, which ranked near the top in almost every defensive category over the past several years. Thanks to Guy's leadership, Slaughter inherited a program with a long history of success and now sets the standard for the future.

As part of COVER1’s summer offseason football coverage, Ryan Chadwick and James Bouligny sat down with Slaughter for an interview last week. Watch that interview below:

The Hawks will look different on offense this season. Guy’s old-school triple-option style will likely not appear this season as the Hawks move in a new direction. How these boys will fare in this new system is still unknown, but Coach Slaughter said Wall has some exceptional athletes this season.

Wall returns several key pieces, including quarterback and recent Oklahoma Sooner Baseball commit Gunnar Dillard, runningback Hagyn Barbee, star pass rusher Brylan White, and track star Briggs Jones. Several other players will contribute across the board this season but look forward to seeing speed in space moving forward.

Wall kicks off 2024 on the road against an old rival in the Mason Punchers. That game is slated for August 30 at 7 p.m. in the Puncher Dome in Mason.