High-Flying Wall Prepares for War Against Defending State Champion Gunter

WALL, TX — After blowing out the Idalou Wildcats, the No. 2-ranked Wall Hawks will get a revenge game against the No. 3 Gunter Tigers in the state semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday at Art Briles Stadium in Stephenville.

Gunter ended Wall's season last year in this same round on the way to the state title.

This past Friday, Wall dismantled Idalou 48-7, ending their great season. Quarterback Landon York went 16-of-27 for 307 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Senior Ried Robertson caught half of York’s completions for 153 yards and two scores, while the Hawks did their job on the ground, where they collected 151 yards and two TDs. Sophomore Gunner Garza rushed for 78 yards, including a 66-yard TD, and senior Brady Neal had 10 touches for 60 yards.

Defensively, the Hawks were outstanding, forcing four turnovers, including three interceptions. Levi King got it started with an interception on the first Wildcat drive, and Jacob Braden added a pick-six later in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.

Gavin Sisson then grabbed an interception on Idalou's opening drive of the second half. Slayton Hallmark had Wall’s lone sack, but seven different players terrorized quarterback Kamdon Lutrick in the backfield with 15 quarterback hurries, and the defense as a whole had seven tackles for loss.

This week, Wall will try to take down a Gunter team that ended its season last year, 42-32, before going on to win state against Woodville, 28-0.

In last year's meeting, the Hawks outscored the Tigers in the first half, 25-17. Wall eventually led 32-17, but Gunter scored the game's final 25 points.

The Tigers aren’t the same team as last season, but they still boast a 13-1 record with their only loss coming in Week 3 to Celina, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4A Division I. Other than the Celina game, and a game against private school Richland, the Tigers have not scored less than 40 points in any of their games.

Over the year, Gunter has scored an average of 49.5 points per game and has only given up 15.5 points. In their 45-14 state quarterfinal win over Leonard, sophomore quarterback Knox Gage was perfect in the passing game. He went 8-of-8 for 119 yards and three TDs. Junior receiver Alex Fenner caught four passes for 92 yards and all three of Gage’s TDs.

Aside from Benji Rodriguez and Jay Campiti, all of Gunter’s offensive players who had touches against Leonard are underclassmen.

Junior David Puga is the only player listed with any defensive statistics from that game, and he snagged an interception.

Even the Tigers' kickers, Lathan Pecina and Jaxson Leonard, were perfect on special teams. Pecina was 6-of-6 on extra points, and Leonard was 1-of-1 on field goal tries.

In all, the Tigers had 192 rushing yards and 119 passing yards, which made them pretty balanced in the game.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise as Gunter has played in seven of the last nine state finals and won five state championships during that time.

While the Tigers have basically a new team out there — they only returned two starters on offense and five on defense — they also have a new coach as Jake Fieszel resigned back in April after overseeing all five state titles. Like the Hawks did before last season, Gunter promoted from within as offensive coordinator Jordan Gill was elevated to head coach.

Wall knows what it needs to do, but head coach Craig Slaughter also knows what Gunter brings.

“We know they are one of the flagship programs of Texas high school football out of any classification,” Slaughter said. “(They’ve”) got 10 regional titles in a row, five state championships the last 10 years. There is not a rebuild in Gunter. They’re expected to go do exactly what they’re doing.”

One thing the Hawks have is more returners with seven on offense, including York, and four on defense. When asked how the Hawks plan on taking advantage of the Tigers defense, Slaughter said, “Our goal is always protecting Landon (York) and letting him make decisions to get the ball to his weapons. We’ve also had a very successful run game all year.”

Last season, the run game was sort of lacking against Gunter.

“In the early summer, we talked about ‘We have to do a better job of running the ball when teams know we are going to run the ball," Slaughter said. “We returned three of the pieces on the offensive line that were in this game last year … and we expect them to go perform at a high level.”

Slaughter also spoke highly of Gage at quarterback and Campiti at running back.

“They run right at you,” said Slaughter. “They are a very aggressive, downhill football team. Campiti is an absolutely tremendous running back. He’s a tough kid to tackle, and he’s got it all as far as the wiggle and the power. He can put his shoulder down and run right through you.”

That didn’t stop Slaughter from praising his defense, the unit that has only given up 85 points all season long.

“Our kids have played consistent defense, and Gunter is a little bit of a different challenge in the formations and some of the quick motions they give you," Slaughter said. "Gunter has a super high level of execution, and you can’t give them any help. We are going to do everything we can to get them off schedule.”

But the rematch is also on Wall’s mind.

“The second this game ended last year, we knew we were returning a strong group. You kind of felt you were on a collision course. To be the best, you have to beat the best,” Slaughter said.

As good as Gunter has been, the Hawks have been right there with them. Offensively, Wall has scored five more points than the Tigers this season.

But that defense? It has been incredible.

The Hawks are only giving up six points per game, and the Gunter defense is giving up 15.5. Yes, Gunter played Celina, but Wall has played 4A D-I Brownwood, 4A-DII Monahans, and 3A-DI Jim Ned and Sweetwater.

York has been outstanding for the Hawks this season, going 230-of-338 for 3,661 yards, 55 touchdowns and only five interceptions. On the ground, he has added 224 yards and three scores.

The running game has clearly been a point of emphasis this season. Where the Hawks didn’t really struggle to run the ball last season, they are much more efficient this year.

In 2024 as a team, the Hawks had 370 carries for 2,340 yards and 37 TDs. This season, they have 2,189 yards and 34 scores, nearly matching last year’s production on 76 less carries.

Brady Neal has been the lead back with 1,021 yards for 14 touchdowns and Gunner Garza is an explosive back with 11 touches for 293 yards, a 26.6 yard per carry average, and 3 scores.

York has a ton of weapons to throw to this season. His top receiver, Reid Robertson returns from last season and has caught 59 passes for 1,251 yards and 19 touchdowns. Kellen Oliver and Jager Thompson has 566 and 531 yards respectively and have crossed the goal line 16 times. Evan Boehle has caught 466 yards and 6 touchdowns Hagyn Barbee has 19 receptions for 326 yards and 5 scores.

The defense has also improved over last year in both sacks and interceptions. In 2024, the Hawks had 28 sacks and 16 interceptions. This year, they have 33 sacks and 25 interceptions. Eight different players have multiple sacks, and seven have multiple interceptions, which just means it doesn’t matter where opposing teams throw it, the Hawks can come up with it.

Wall’s defense basically lives in the opponent’s backfields as they have 136 total tackles for loss, led by Dylan Sellers (20) and Jacob Braden (17). Braden is actually the tackle king for the Hawks with 142 followed by Sellers with 115.

While Sellers is second in tackles, he leads the team with 7 sacks followed by Bennett Branch with 5. Kaden McFarden, Ben Taylor, and Jacob Braden each have 4 sacks and Slayton Hallmark has added 3 to the Hawk’s total. They’ve also harassed quarterbacks with 175 quarterback hurries.

As for the 25 interceptions, they should be called the Wall Ballhawks. Levi King has snagged 6 picks, leading the team, and Gavin Sisson and Kellen Oliver have 4 and 3 respectively. 4 different players have 2 picks and 4 have 1 pick.

Also, both in points for and against, the Hawks are improved as well. Last year, Wall scored 633 points and gave up 210.

The Wall Hawks (14-0) will battle the Gunter Tigers (13-1) for a chance to play for their first-ever state title. Their only appearance in the state final came back in 2014, when they lost to Cameron Yoe, 35-14.