WALL, TX-- The Wall Hawks are arguably one of the hottest teams in Class 3A Division I right now.
They’ve won eight straight games and made it past the bi-district round of the Texas high school playoffs for the ninth straight year. This comes after dropping the first two games of the season and having one canceled.
That’s not unfamiliar territory for the Hawks, however.
In 2016, Wall dropped three non-district games and went 6-1 in their final seven games in a year that saw the Hawks to state semifinals.
They needed a young, inexperienced team to step up that year. The 2018 season is eerily similar with just three starters returning and an eventual visit from the injury bug.
Early on, the wheels of the now-lethal Hawks were visibly turning. Yet, they had no traction.
They uncharacteristically leaned on the pass in their losses to Class 2A no. 1-ranked Mason and Midland Christian.
While that adds a rarely seen dimension to Wall’s potent veer offense, it’s not their m.o.
Following those losses, Wall found a new gear with their rushing attack.
What led to that revival? Senior leadership and sophomores stepping up to fill the void left by injuries.
“They’re resilient. That’s what I’ll say about them,” head coach Houston Guy said. “They’ve bounced back from injury after injury. They’ve had to play positions they normally wouldn’t in a normal year. They’ve taken it in stride. They’re workers. That says a lot about our senior leadership, too. Those guys coming in could’ve easily, at times, been very frustrated and upset with these younger guys. But they didn’t. They just kept picking them up and leading them.”
One of those sophomores who have flourished is running back Chase Rios.
“It’s been a crazy ride,” Rios said. “You can’t expect anything. You’ve just gotta be ready for everything. Being younger, it’s real cool.”
Through the first three games, senior Sutton Braden shouldered the load for Wall’s rushing attack. That was balanced out when Rios showed what he could do against Sonora. It was just 50 yards and a touchdown on four carries, but it was a sign of things to come.
Three games later, against Eastland, Rios broke the century mark for the first time this season with 153 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 16 carries. He has now posted four consecutive 100-yard rushing games. All while Braden was sidelined.
“I think you have to have that in the offense we have,” Guy said. “It has to be spread out, spread around between individuals. It can’t be just one guy toting the mail all the time in this offense. [Defenses] have to stop the fullback, running back and quarterback.”
Rios attributes his performance to the seniors stepping up to help him learn the game.
“They kinda motivate me,” he said. “Gage [Weishuhn] is blocking and Sutton’s running. It’s all just kinda gone around. It’s fun, but at the same time, we take it serious.”
Rios is just a microcosm for this Hawks team riddled with sophomores playing serious minutes.
“Those sophomores have stepped up and taken on roles that normally a sophomore wouldn’t have to fill,” Guy added. “They’ve taken those roles and run with them. We’ve got sophomore running backs, we’ve got sophomore linebackers, we’ve got sophomore linemen. You know, guys that don’t usually have to play those roles. You can’t tell the difference between our sophomores and our upperclassmen. They’re playing like seasoned football players.”
Teams can’t just key on Wall’s backfield, though. Junior Mason Fuchs has thrown for over 1,000 yards this season.
“They can’t just pack the box with 11,” Guy said. “Now they have to honor the passing game, which helps us out offensively. So, I think the whole gambit of our offense is hitting strides where it should be.
That experience will be tested this week by an ultra-explosive Bushland Falcons offense. They’re averaging 42.5 points per game and have score 50 points or more in five games this season.
The Hawks relish the opportunity of stopping that high octane offense.
“These guys have been battle tested with high-powered offenses,” Guy said. “They’ve been battle tested with offenses that can throw the ball and offenses that are very run oriented. So, we’ve seen a gambit of both ends of the spectrum from very good football teams. I think those games in our preseason, even the games in our district were knockdown drag-outs. We’re gonna lean on those games for the experience we got from them. Whether it was a win or loss, we gained something out of it.”
Wall (8-2) and Bushland (8-3) are scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff at Lobo Stadium in Levelland on Friday.
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