Will Wall Be Able to Stop The Undefeated Eastland Mavericks?

WALL, TX — The Wall Hawks walked out of Tuscola Friday one step closer to a perfect record and a district championship. 

Now, they are preparing to face their biggest test yet. 

The Eastland Mavericks will head to Wall fresh off a 76-28 torching of Breckenridge and a shiny, new #7 Class 3A ranking.  They are athletic, high scoring, and undefeated. 

Over the course of the season, Eastland has averaged 52 points per game due in large part to the 8th best dual threat quarterback in the nation and a bevy of talented receivers.  Behren Morton, the 6'3" 190 pound signal caller who verbally commited to Texas Tech last week, has helped take last year's 9-4 Mavericks to the next level.

Morton has thrown for 1,942 yards, 23 touchdowns, and one interception while completing 66% of his passes.  He also has five rushing touchdowns. 

Morton is every bit of a top tier quarterback.  He has the size, arm strength, awareness, and athleticism to be a star for the Red Raiders for years to come.

So, how does Wall plan to stop them?

Well, they probably won't be able to completely stop the Eastland offense.  They just need to slow them down.  Excluding their game in Eastland, the Albany Lions have allowed just 8.7 points per game.  When the two played in mid-September, the Mavericks put up 60 on the then #2 Lions. 

They have not been held to less than 25 points all season and have scored over 56 four separate times. 

Morton does not carry the team by himself, though.  12 different offensive players have scored a touchdown this season.  Junior running back Brandon Fielding, who is listed at 5'11" and 220 pounds, has picked up 840 yards on the ground this season while averaging just shy of 11 yards per carry.  He has 11 touchdowns on the season.

Last week against Breckenridge, Fielding had his best game of the season with 214 yards and one score on 16 carries.

Morton has several play makers on the outside, too.  Payton McClain, Anthony Bonilla, and Alex Gonzales are all big athletes and have received the most targets so far.  McClain and Gonzales are both listed at 6'1".

On the season, defensive coordinator Craig Slaughter's bunch has allowed only 48 points.  No team has been able to reach the end zone more than twice.  They play hard, smart, and fast.  Really fast. 

Their defensive line, anchored by seniors Joe Walker and Stuart Bumann and juniors Josh and Jake Balcomb, is dominant.  They harassed Jim Ned quarterback Dylan Martin from start to finish last week and held him to only 74 yards and a 50% completion rate. 

They are eager for the challenge.  "Coming in this year with the better defense that we have and how powerful we are on the defensive line, I think we should handle it pretty well," Joe Walker told San Angelo Live about the looming match up.  "We played them last year, and it was a fairly hard game for us."  Wall won that game 41-21 in Eastland. 

Slaughter has an uncanny ability to prepare his players mentally and emotionally before games.  Whenever you ask a player about him and his coaching style, they light up.

"He's always amped up.  He's always amped up," Walker said.  "He get's us ready for every single week.  He puts us through stuff no other coach would show us.  He puts the time in, definitely.  He gives us notes, anything like that.  He's one of the best coaches I've ever met."

On the sideline, Slaughter is fiery and energetic.  As quarterback Mason Fuchs was taking the last couple knees to run the clock out, he was running up and down the sideline slapping hands and yelling about how big the next game would be.  No time to celebrate.  The end goal has not been reached.

Offensively, Wall will need to play better.  Against Jim Ned, the Hawks had false start after false start and struggled at points to move the ball.  It was the defense that kept them in the game. 

Against Eastland, though, they will need points.  It would be a tremendous performance if they held them to less than three touchdowns, and Wall will have to match them. 

Fuchs has looked very good throwing the ball, and the lanky senior Connor Dierschke had an incredible night last week before leaving the game following a big hit. 

They should be able to put points on the board.  Eastland's defense is not impressive and has allowed 20 points per game.  Chase Rios and company could have a field day, but if Eastland reaches the 30's and 40's, then they might be overwhelmed.

Wall will try to hold the ball and drain the clock to give their defense rest and take possessions away from the Mavericks.

Kickoff is set for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Hawk Stadium.