WALL, TX — The Wall Hawks finally reached the mountaintop of Region I last week with their stunning 49-3 dismantling of Canadian.
Now the Hawks are one win away from playing for the state championship, but an even bigger mountain is blocking their path — No. 1-ranked Gunter.
The Tigers are the back-to-back defending state champions in Class 3A Division II. They’ve played in six of the last eight state finals, and this will be their ninth straight trip to the state semifinals.
Wall head coach Craig Slaughter called Gunter the “unquestioned king of 3A football.”
Wall will make its first appearance in the state semifinals since 2016 when the No. 4-ranked Hawks (13-1) play Gunter (12-2) at 4 p.m. Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Wildcat Stadium.
It will be strength on strength with Gunter’s offense, averaging 44 points per game, versus Wall’s defense, which is giving up an average of 12 points.
“They are extremely smart with their offensive schemes,” Slaughter said. “They’ll give you a formation. Then they’ll shift. Then they’ll motion somebody. They do an incredible job of trying to create weaknesses in the defense somewhere. They have a very sophisticated offense, and their kids are athletic and tough.”
It will also be an intriguing matchup between Wall’s new high-flying spread offense (averaging 43 points) against Gunter’s defense (allowing 13 points).
“They have an extremely good defensive line, which has caused problems for pretty much everybody they’ve played,” Slaughter said. “We’ve done such a good job taking care of the ball and finding some of those home-run plays. … We’re still looking to get the ball to some of our athletes in space and let them do something special with it.
“Our offensive line has been so good at protecting our quarterback, and Landon York has made absolutely great decisions.”
Wall has had a dream season, which includes 12 straight wins, and the Hawks delivered their best performance of the season last week against Canadian.
The Wildcats, who had won the region every year but once since 2014 (while knocking out Wall the last two seasons), were held without a touchdown for the first time in 18 years.
Wall’s offense also lit up Canadian’s vaunted defense with one big play after another.
In all, the Hawks had four plays of 50 yards or more (an 89-yard TD catch by Evan Boehle, a 57-yard TD catch by Reid Robertson, and a 76-yard TD run and 54-yard TD catch by Briggs Jones).
“We’d been chasing (Canadian) for a couple years, and I thought the kids played lights out,” Slaughter said. “I told them I was proud of them, and that I love how they play big in big moments, and that was a big one for us.”
2023 3A Division II Champions: Gunter Tigers
(San Angelo LIVE! Photo/Scott Menchaca)
Gunter is on an 11-game winning streak, and all of the wins have been by 26 points or more.
The Tigers suffered their first loss since the 2021 state final when they were humbled 55-28 by Anna and 38-7 by Celina in back-to-back games in nondistrict play.
Anna was the defending 5A Division II state champ, while Celena is still alive in the 4A Division I state semifinals.
Gunter is led by quarterback Preston Tarpley, who is receiving NCAA Division I college interest for his ability as a kicker.
He was 113-of-116 on extra points last season, which was the third-most in the nation.
He is 6-for-6 on field goal tries during this playoff run, including kicks of 34 and 40 yards in last week’s 33-7 win over No. 8 Holliday. He also had two punts downed on the 1-yard line.
As a QB, he was 11-of-16 passing for 111 yards.
The winner of this game will advance to the state championship game at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, where they’ll play unranked Woodville or Tidehaven.
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