When the season began, Wall coach Craig Slaughter was confident he’d have an explosive offense. After all, the Hawks returned the area’s third-leading passer in Landon York and a deep and talented group of pass-catchers, led by speedy senior Reid Robertson.

When it came to the defense, though, the veteran coach wasn’t quite as sure what to expect. Wall graduated seven of its 11 starters from last year’s state semifinalist squad, and Slaughter felt the offense may need to carry some extra weight while the defense found its stride.

As it turned out, though, the defense’s learning curve was much shorter than expected. In fact, it was basically nonexistent. The Hawks established a brisk defensive pace through a tough nondistrict schedule and have done nothing but improve since, allowing seven points or fewer in 10 of their 14 games (all victories), including a total of 14 points in the four playoff wins leading up to Friday’s clash with three-time defending state champion Gunter.