PREVIEW: No. 2 Wall Faces Slaton in Regional Semifinals

WALL, TX — The No. 2 Wall Hawks continue their pursuit of a state title this week when they travel to Sweetwater to face off with Slaton in a regional semifinal matchup on Friday, Nov. 28.

Wall comes off a 50-0 thrashing of the Childress Bobcats in a game where the Hawks did what they pleased all game. Childress did its best to hang tough, but Wall proved time and again that it was the better team.

The Hawks impressed on defense. Wall started the contest with two takeaways on the Bobcats' first two offensive possessions. They added several sacks and stopped Childress from ever pushing deep into Wall territory. Levi King also had an interception in the 3rd quarter, right after Childress recovered the second-half kickoff on an onside kick.

Offensively, the Hawks benefited from multiple short fields thanks to takeaways on defense. Quarterback Landon York finished the contest with 177 yards on 19/28 passing and two touchdowns. He added 97 rushing yards and an additional two touchdowns, including an 87-yard touchdown run in the second half.

Next up, Wall faces off with the Slaton Tigers (10-2). Slaton defeated one of Wall's district rivals, Merkel, 43-36 on a last-minute touchdown with ten seconds left in the 4th quarter. Good news for Slaton? The Tigers are 10-2 with a spot in the regional semifinal. Bad news? Wall defeated Merkel 63-13. While common opponent matchups are not an absolute in high school football, Wall should not break much of a sweat against Slaton on Friday.

The Tigers operate a power-run-styled offense. Wall has seen ones like it before. While Slaton does not run the ball as much as a team like Grape Creek, the Hawks should have little difficulty forcing Slaton into bad situations early. If Wall can take an early lead, the Hawks can wreck Slaton's game plan and make them throw the football.

Kickoff in Friday's matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Sweetwater.