Wall Trails Midland Christian at the Half

MIDLAND, TX — The Wall Hawks put their 21-game winning streak to the test on Friday night when they traveled to Midland to face the Midland Christian Mustangs. After taking an early lead, some mental mistakes slowed Wall's offense down enough for the Mustangs to storm back and take over before the break. Wall trails at the half, 20-12.

The first half could be defined by three different plays. A failed 4th down and two false starts. Jager Thompson put Wall in scoring position on the Hawks' opening drive on a 40-yard pass play, but Wall failed to capitalize. Midland Christian's defense turned the Hawks back on four straight plays to keep the score even early in the 1st quarter.

However, Wall's defense proved up to the task and took advantage of the Mustangs' poor field position to put Wall on the board. On a 3rd and long backed up against the end zone, Midland Christian was called for holding in the end zone. By rule, the play resulted in a safety, and Wall took an early 2-0 lead.

The offense followed that up with its first touchdown. The Hawks converted a 4th and goal a few minutes after the safety on a 6-yard pass from Gunner King to Evan Boehle to put Wall up 9-0.

Then, Midland Christian fought back. The Mustangs would score on two straight drives to take a 14-9 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. Wall had an opportunity to answer in between those two touchdowns, but a false start turned a 3rd-and-manageable into a 3rd and long, and the Hawks were forced to punt.

Wall did answer with less than four minutes to play, but again, a false start on 4th and short forced the Hawks to settle for a field goal. Down 14-12, the Hawks then gave up a deep pass that put Midland Christian on Wall's 2-yard line with less than a minute to play in the 2nd. The Mustangs would score two plays later to take a 20-12 lead into the locker rooms.

Wall has some work to do if they want to win this game.