No. 3-Ranked Wall Shuts Out No. 10 Jim Ned

TUSCOLA, TX — The Wall Hawks' high-scoring offense gets a lot of attention, but this night belonged to the defense.

Wall went on the road Friday and shut out the No. 10-ranked team in Class 3A Division I with a 24-0 win over rival Jim Ned.

The Hawks forced eight punts and allowed only seven first downs, looking every bit like the No. 3-ranked team in Class 3A D-II with their impressive shutout in Tuscola.

"The defense was absolutely outstanding," Wall head coach Craig Slaughter said. "Us and Jim Ned have such an awesome rivalry. We bring out the best in each other. I have a ton of respect for their kids, and I'm a huge fan of their coaches. It was a great win and a great shutout tonight, and I'm very proud of them for sure."

The Hawks' defense needed to be at their best Friday as Wall's offense didn't manage a first down on its opening three drives.

Quarterback Landon York only had a single passing yard when the first quarter ended.

Wall's defense stood strong, however, and the Hawks finally got going with a 73-yard touchdown drive, capped by York's 9-yard scoring pass to Reid Robertson with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter.

"We need some of that adversity, because it’s not always gonna be just four plays and go score," Slaughter said.

Jim Ned's offense failed to pick up a first down the rest of the half, and the Hawks added a 41-yard field goal by Tyler Klinesmith with 1:41 remaining and an 11-yard TD pass from York to Hagyn Barbee with 19 seconds left for a 17-0 lead at halftime.

Jim Ned came out firing to start the second half with a couple of big passing plays to get inside the 10-yard line.

But the Hawks stopped them at the 1 on fourth down to preserve the shutout.

Wall scored the game's final TD late in the third quarter when York threw a 28-yard pass to Kellan Oliver, who trucked two Indians defenders on the way to the end zone.

Wall's defense limited Jim Ned to 186 yards of total offense, including only 46 on the ground.

In a credit to Jim Ned's defense, York was held to only 16-of-35 passing for Wall — including an interception in the end zone — though he still finished with 226 yards and three TDs.

Wall running back Brady Neal had 17 carries for 88 yards to lead the Hawks' rushing attack. They particularly turned to him in the second half to help grind out the game.

"Brady is a tough, tough runner, and he's a run-through contact kid," Slaughter said. "A couple of times, we thought he left yardage out there because he was leaning so far forward. But I thought the last two-and-a-half quarters, he ran great. Credit to Brady and that O-line."

Wall (3-0) will travel to play Monahans next week, while Jim Ned (1-2) will visit Jacksboro.

This story will be updated.

Wall 24, Jim Ned 0

Wall   0   17   7   0 — 24

Jim Ned   0   0   0   0 — 0

Second Quarter

W — Reid Robertson 9 pass from Landon York (Tyler Klinesmith kick), 7:20 remaining

W — Klinesmith 41 field goal, 1:41

W — Hagyn Barbee 11 pass from York (Klinesmith kick), :19

Third Quarter

W — Kellan Oliver 28 pass York (Klinesmith kick), :10