Wall football coach Craig Slaughter pictures his roster like a puzzle.
The puzzle can be a quick solve. A missing piece, or two, gets put in its place and boom, before Slaughter knows, it was solved without too much stress or headache.
On the flip side, the first day of practice can look like a fragmented puzzle without a clear path to completion.
Last year’s Class 3A Division II state champion Hawks team resembled a nearly finished puzzle early. As they racked up 16 wins, the bond keeping the pieces together only strengthened.
“Last year, you knew, we had an incredible football team,” Slaughter said. “There was a lot of internal pressure, like for myself — I knew we had a real chance to get this done.”
This year’s team is a bit different with more competition to start fall practices, Slaughter said. Only three players on offense and defense returned after graduating 23 lettermen. That left 38 players vying for 16 starting spots for the Hawks on Friday night.
“There’s plenty of kids that I will be wrong about,” Slaughter said. “Some in a great way and some in other ways. But, you know, that puzzle will sort itself out. … You’re always evaluating your kids. I have a 2029 depth chart on my computer right now — I’ll be wrong about it, but you know that’s because it’s an ongoing program.”
The names on the jersey may change from year to year, but the coaching staff and culture never let the edges of the puzzle come apart.
The Hawks returned most of their assistant coaches, including the architect of their swap to a spread offense, offensive coordinator Rob Londerholm. All while Slaughter will continue to call the defense like he has since coming to Wall more than a decade ago.
One of the best ways to solve a puzzle is finding the core pieces to build around. Slaughter singled out two on offense — wide receivers Evan Boehle and Jager Thompson, who combined for more than 1,000 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns last season.
Both fought for playing time the last three seasons and are now entrenched as focal points for the team early in camp.
“You know, it’s pretty special,” Boehle said. “Starting as a sophomore, I remember looking up to the seniors, and now that’s me. So, I get to be a leader, that’s my role now.”
The biggest step to solving the Wall football puzzle was finding a quarterback. At the start of fall practices, Gunner King, who sat in waiting for the past couple of seasons, said he is excited for a chance to start. The senior had a handful of snaps last season, posting 291 yards passing and one touchdown.
“It’s year three of this offense for me, and they allowed me to get some reps last year,” King said. “So, on day one, it just feels like I’m back into it.”
The 2026 Hawks have a few key pieces in place but are from the final picture. As the season progresses, the puzzle will shift and the team will adapt. And somewhere scattered among the pieces, Slaughter sees a championship caliber team.
“Our mindset never changes,” Slaughter said. “I want to get our team to the big moments, and I trust our kids to play well. That’s our program’s DNA in all of our sports. Our kids are so used to playing in big football games, big track meets and baseball games — they’re in that moment all the time.”
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X @Paul_Witwer, Instagram and TikTok at pwitwer_sast.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Craig Slaughter and Wall culture help find missing pieces to the puzzle
Reporting by Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times / San Angelo Standard-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times | USA TODAY Network
