Wall Played Tough, But Not Tough Enough to Defeat a San Antonio Powerhouse

SAN ANGELO, TX — Squaring off against the San Antonio Cornerstone Christian Warriors, the Wall Hawks looked to remain perfect at Hawk stadium tonight in Wall. Yet, faced with a team loaded with Division I college talent, Wall climbed an uphill battle all night that, in the end, proved to be insurmountable. Although Wall’s defense put up a herculean effort, the Hawks could not keep up with the high octane offense of Cornerstone Christian as the Warriors pulled away in the second half. The Wall Hawks lost their first game of the season Friday night, Sept. 11, 2020 by a score of 24-6.

Receiving the first half kick off, the San Antonio Cornerstone Christian Warriors put on a show of offensive efficiency. Starting the drive at Warrior 35 yard line, RB #24 Cliff Williamson carried the ball five straight plays, pushing the Wall Hawk defense deep into their own territory. QB #7 Lucas Coley connected on two different passes to set up a 4 yard touchdown run by RB #1 Myzel MIller. Cornerstone Christian quickly struck first and led 7-0.

Following the opening score, the Wall Hawks looked to answer. Starting their first drive at their own 20 yard line, QB #7 Drew Morrison and the rest of the Hawk offense pushed and shoved their way to midfield. However, the promising drive came to an end as Morrison threw an interception at the Warrior 30 yard line.

After trading a pair of punts, the Warriors methodically ground down the Hawk defense with a combination of big plays. Pushed deep into their own territory, the Wall defense came up with a takeaway of their own. Stripping QB Lucas Cole on a designed quarterback run, Wall recovered the fumble to stop in its tracks the Warriors bid to score.

Entering the second quarter with the ball from the turnover, the Wall Hawks’ offense could not get anything going. Even though the Hawks managed to move the chains once, the drive ultimately stalled and ended with another punt. On the defensive side of the ball, however, the Hawks refused to give ground. Helped by two costly 15-yard penalties by Cornerstone Christian, Wall’s defense stopped the Warriors yet again.

Disaster struck a second time for the Wall Hawks as the first half wound down to a close. After grinding more than six minutes off of the clock, a drive that included a 25-yard run by RB #24 Kye Herbert, and a successful 4th down conversion, the Hawks turned the ball over again. Forcing a deep throw into the endzone, QB Drew Morrison threw his second interception of the night. The half came to a close with the Cornerstone Christian Warriors leading the Wall Hawks 7-0.

The Wall Hawks opened the second half on offense and, regrettably, continued to struggle. Three short gains on three straight plays forced the Hawks to punt. The deciding factor of the game came on 4th down of the same series. The Cornerstone Christian defense pounced on a bad snap over the Hawks’ punter’s head that rolled into the endzone, recovering it for a touchdown. The Warriors extended their lead to 14-0.

The following possessions for the Wall Hawks’ offense looked the same as the first, three and out and a punt. Before the 3rd quarter finished, Cornerstone Christian once again added to their lead. QB Lucas Coley threw a well-designed screen pass to RB #21 Ryan Quinney that he quickly took 40 yards down the field for another score. Entering the 4th quarter. The Wall Hawks trailed 21-0. As the quarter continued, Cornerstone Christian continued to pull away. Adding a monster 50 yard field goal to the total.

The Wall Hawks finally managed to get on the board late in the 4th quarter after a long drive led by QB #10 Gabe Haskins. Haskins entered the game after a banged up Morrison sat out the drive to recover. After several successful plays, Haskins broke off a 30-yard touchdown run. Although it was late in the game, the Hawks offense finally showed up, closing the gap. In the end, however, it was just too little too late. The Wall Hawks fall to 2-1 on the season, losing their first tonight, 24-6.

On a tough night all around for the Wall Hawks, a bright spot for this team is their defense. Facing almost no offensive production, turnovers, and multiple short fields, the Hawks stood firm for much of this game. Considering the amount of talent Cornerstone Christian brought to the field, the Hawks’ defensive performance showed fans what to expect from Wall the rest of the season. This is a talented unit that has the ability to stop big play offenses. The ability to create takeaways, forcing punts, and stifling red hot offenses is key to their success moving forward. Against powerhouse teams like Cornerstone, Wall could be more competitive if the team found a way to produce through the air when their signature triple-option ground game is not working.

After the game, Wall Head Football Coach Houston Guy had this to say about his team. “That is a very good football club from San Antonio...I thought our defense played lights out to keep those guys held to 7 at halftime. This is a learning experience right now that we are gonna take and build on. I think our guys grew tonight as a football team. I think they will be better next week than they were this week.”

Wall looks to get the season back on track next week when they take on their long-time rivals, the Mason Punchers, at home, Sept. 18, 2020, at 7:30 pm, at Hawk Stadium in Wall.