Wall Hawks Overcome Slow Start, Romp Past Jim Ned

TUSCOLA, TX — Another week, another test passed for the Wall Hawks.

Wall overcame an early battle from rival Jim Ned on Friday before dominating the second half in a 49-13 win.

Jim Ned was within 21-13 and had a chance to tie the game midway through the second quarter, but it was all Wall from there.

The Hawks took a 28-13 lead into halftime and outscored the Indians 21-0 in the second half.

It was the 19th win in a row for a Wall program that hasn’t lost since the 2024 state semifinals.

"I loved the second-half response," Wall head coach Craig Slaughter said. "I didn't think we played as clean the first half, but a lot of that's credit to Jim Ned. They're well coached and  have tough kids, and they showed up and got after it.

"We had to come out and kind of control the second half, because that game was very much in question."

Wall scored on the game's opening drive on a 15-yard TD run by Gunner Garza, but Jim Ned's Kaithen Garcia returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a score to answer right back.

To Wall's credit, the Hawks responded in just five plays when Hudson Surber broke free for a 41-yard TD catch on a pass from Gunner King.

After a defensive stop, Jager Thompson then returned a punt 65 yards for a TD to give Wall a 21-7 lead.

But Jim Ned didn't go away quietly.

The Indians scored on a 31-yard TD pass from Jackson Beard to Cason Cumby, and their defense stopped Wall on a fourth-and-4 at Jim Ned's 27.

Wall's defense got the ball right back, however, and Surber had another long TD catch, this one covering 54 yards, to jumpstart Wall's runaway win.

"Our speed is a great demoralizer," Slaughter said. "There's some weapons out there, and that explosiveness is tough to defend."

Garza had 17 carries for 77 yards and three touchdowns — along with a 61-yard catch — to lead the Hawks' offense.

Surber had six catches for 138 yards and two TDs, while Thompson had six catches for 62 yards.

King threw for 274 yards and two TDs on 16-of-24 passing. He was intercepted for the first time this season when Jim Ned's Joe Angel Contreras caught an attempted screen pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage.

Wall's Kalan Sanders had an interception on defense for the Hawks.

Garza said his coach jumped the team at halftime, and they made sure to put the game away in the second half.

"Slaughter got after us, and after that we were ready to go," Garza said. "We were definitely pumped up and cranked up after that."

Wall, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A Division I, improved to 3-0, while Jim Ned fell to 0-3 — though all three of their losses have been against state powers (Greenwood and Llano were the other two).

The Hawks returned only three starters on both sides of the ball from last year's state championship team, but this new group of players has been up to the challenge so far in defending the title.

Wall rallied from 14 points down to defeat a state-ranked 4A D-I Canyon West Plains team 42-35 in Week 1, followed by a 55-14 win over 6A La Joya last week.

"The media was awesome and helped put a chip on our shoulder about (how many players) we were losing," Slaughter said. "So we didn't really have to kind of beat them down. That chip was there, and these kids want to go prove themselves."

Wall will play again next week when it hosts Ozona.

Wall 49, Jim Ned 13

Wall   21   7   14   7 — 49

Jim Ned   7   6   0   0 — 13

First Quarter

W - Gunner Garza 15 run (Tyler Klinesmith kick), 8:37 remaining

J - Kaithen Garcia 86 kickoff return (Ethan Miller kick), 8:28

W - Hudson Surber 41 pass from Gunner King (Klinesmith kick), 6:21

W - Jager Thompson 65 punt return (Klinesmith kick), 4:23

Second Quarter

J - Cason Cumby 31 pass from Jackson Beard (kick failed), 11:53

W - Surber 54 pass from King (Klinesmith kick), 4:40

Third Quarter

W - Garza 6 run (Klinesmith kick), 8:06

W - Jaxson Kennedy 10 run (Klinesmith kick), 3:11

Fourth Quarter

W - Garza 2 run (Klinesmith kick), 11:23