WALL, TX-- The cancellation of last week’s game against Cisco was a sort of dual-edged sword for the Wall Hawks.
On one hand, they were able to heal up from nagging injuries that lingered from their opener with Mason and correct mistakes in that game thanks to the unexpected bye week.
On the other hand, they didn’t get to put those corrections to the test to see what still needed work.
“You would liked to have had a game,” Wall head coach Houston Guy said. “Coming off that Mason game, there were some things that I know we could’ve fixed, that we’ve gotta fix going forward. You would’ve liked to have a game to fix the situation, the little wrinkles that we got wrong and get the taste out of your mouth.”
Guy, who will never curse the rain, was thankful his team was able to fully recover after their hard-fought game against Mason.
One of those “wrinkles” Guy mentioned was his veer offense leaning on the passing game in their 27-21 loss. Junior quarterback Mason Fuchs threw 13 passes with seven completions for 206 yards and one touchdown in that game.
“It was nice seeing our quarterback and our receivers connect and do so well throwing and catching,” Guy said. “That’s one of those things we haven’t had to do in the past. Mostly because people haven’t been able to stop our run.”
Guy said having to throw that much was “disheartening” because the Hawks want throw the ball “when we want to, not when we have to.”
“We don’t need to go into a game throwing it 15 to 20 times a game,” Guy added. “We’ve gotta establish the run. We’ve gotta find a way to make the run work. We’ve gotta block our perimeter and get our run game going and then that helps our passing game, also.”
That loss to no. 2 Mason served its purpose, however, and the Hawks feel they’re better for it.
“That first game, all of us were nervous about the season,” said senior defensive end Gage Weishuhn. “After that game and coming together, this week I think we should be good. We’re looking a lot better this week.”
The Hawks get a team they’re pretty familiar with in Midland Christian.
The two teams have played each other the last two years and each team has a win in that time.
“It’s pretty exciting playing a bigger school than us and a school that’s just as good as us or even better,” Weishuhn added. “It’s just fun. Games like this are always fun.”
Midland Christian boast a 2-0 record with wins against a pair of Class 6A teams in El Paso Chapin and El Paso Americas.
“When you play Midland Christian, you better get ready,” Guy said. “They’re going to be very well-coached. They’re very talented. They’ve played two 6As their first two ballgames. They’re a good football team. It’s kinda one of those situations where we’ve got another great team on our schedule. We’ve gotta prepare and be ready to go. This is going to be one of those games where we need to look good offensively and keep their offense off the field.”
Guy added that ball and clock management is going to be huge for his offense’s success and that should contribute some to the defense’s success, as well.
When their offense is on the field, the Hawks can rely on their defense to make plays as they did in week 1.
“Week 1, I thought [the defense] played extremely well,” Guy said. “I thought they were out there too long. It seemed as though they were back out there as soon as they got off. So, that’s one thing we’ve gotta work on in establishing our offense and keeping our offense on the field and let those guys rest.”
Midland Christian has been balanced through the season, posting 323 passing yards and 365 rushing yards through their first two games.
“It’s going to be really big,” Weishuhn said of stopping Midland Christian’s offense. “We’re going to have to shut down the run game and our secondary is going to shut down the pass game. I think we’ll be fine.”
The Hawks travel to Midland for a 7:30 kickoff this Friday.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: