Wall Hawks Face Ingram Moore in District Championship Clash

WALL, TX — The Wall Hawks (8-1, 3-0 in district) host Ingram Moore (7-2, 2-1 in district) on Friday to determine who will be the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs.

The defending 3A Division II state champ Hawks come off their bye week undefeated in district play, and another win will secure an outright district championship.

Last time out, Wall defeated Early 34-17 in a game where the Hawks struggled early and did not take control of the contest until the fourth quarter. Coach Craig Slaughter talked about the matchup with Early, the bye week, and previewed Ingram Moore after practice on Wednesday. Watch that interview above.

"There were some things we wanted to clean up last week," Slaughter said. "I told the kids all week that I was very pleased with what we got done. We practiced all week; during the bye, it was a little shorter, but we did some situational stuff and things we wanted to clean up. We definitely worked on playing more physical."

Salughter saying that the Hawks need to work on physicality is not something one would expect to hear from a team that is known for tough, physical defense. However, in both games that the Hawks struggled in this season, mainly the loss to Midland Christian and then two weeks ago to Early, the line of scrimmage and run defense have been a problem.

After speaking with Slaughter, it looks like those issues have been resolved, and just in time too, as Wall needs a win over Ingram Moore to secure the one-seed headed into the playoffs.

On paper, Friday's game should be an excellent matchup. Ingram Moore has surprised many across West Texas, and continues to prove that it is a playoff-caliber football team.

"I'm extremely impressed with Ingram Moore," Slaughter continued. "Credit to their staff. This is not your typical football powerhouse community. Growing up, those kids did not watch all those teams in front of them win. These kids are that group that they will talk about for all these groups coming up behind them. They have a really good offensive scheme, quarterback, tailback and a really great receiver. They can absolutely play rock-solid football."

Logan Spalding leads the Warriors' passing attack in 2026, with 1,408 yards and 16 touchdowns. Most impressively, he has only thrown four picks. Any team that is disciplined in the turnover margin always finds success down the road. Wall will need to impose its will on Spalding early. Getting him off his spot and forcing bad throws will help the Hawks put this game away.

Catching those passes from Spalding is junior wideout, Jason Stewart. He's dangerous when left on the perimeter, hauling in 36 passes this season for 822 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

On offense, Wall has been without Jager Thompson since his hamstring injury against Midland Christian several weeks ago. That deep threat, along with his speed in the return game, has hurt the Hawks in his absence, and if he cannot go again, Wall will need its younger guys to continue to step up.

One of those young guys who has done a good job at this has been Hudson Surber. The sophomore slot receiver stepped into Thompson's role when he went down and has emerged as one of the most dynamic players on the field. He is currently Wall's leading receiver with 36 catches for 579 yards and nine touchdowns. Wall needs to remain explosive on offense, and Surber has proven to be a catalyst to make that happen.

Kickoff for the district championship game on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Wall.