ARLINGTON — Whether or not you believe the old axiom that defense wins championships, the Wall Hawks put forward a strong argument for it in Thursday’s 3A Division II state championship game at AT&T Stadium. 

In a matchup that was widely considered to be pairing of Texas’ best 3A defense against the state’s top 3A offense, Wall combined several defensive stops with a handful of big plays to earn a thrilling 25-24 win.

“It hasn’t set in yet,” Slaughter said at the postgame news conference. “We really couldn’t breathe with (Newton’s) explosive offense, but I couldn’t be happier. 

“It was a special year from the jump. We knew we had a chance to play here tonight. Then we see a loaded Newton team (on tape) and we knew we’d have to play well. If you had told me that we’d hold them under 24 points, I probably (wouldn’t have believed it.)