West Plains gave the defending Class 3A Division II state champions everything they could handle Friday night.
In a season opener filled with big plays, turnovers and plenty of momentum swings, the Wolves built a two-touchdown lead before Wall stormed back with 21 unanswered points to escape with a 42-35 victory.
The loss certainly stings for West Plains, but there was also plenty to like in the first game of the Jeff Lofton era.
Lofton made his debut as West Plains' head coach, sophomore Timber Russell made his first varsity start at quarterback and the Wolves faced Wall for the first time in program history. Lofton, however, was plenty familiar with the Hawks after facing them numerous times during his years coaching at Idalou.
West Plains wasted little time making some noise.
Senior running back Slade Russell broke loose down the sideline for a 72-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Gipson Gnagy knocked through the extra point to give the Wolves an early 7-0 advantage.
Wall answered later in the quarter, using a long completion to move deep into West Plains territory before scoring through the air to tie the game at 7-7.
The Wolves went right back to work on the ground.
Senior fullback Cash Lofton powered his way into the end zone to put West Plains back in front, 14-7.
That became the theme of the first half. Every time one team landed a punch, the other seemed ready with an answer.
Wall tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter, but the West Plains defense soon created another opportunity by forcing and recovering a fumble.
This time, the Wolves turned the takeaway into points.
Timber Russell connected with Nate Alvarez for his first varsity touchdown pass, putting West Plains ahead 21-14. Wall responded again with a rushing touchdown to send the game back to a 21-21 tie.
West Plains got one more defensive highlight before halftime when sophomore defensive back Paxton Chandler intercepted a Wall pass.
The Wolves came out of the locker room ready to regain control.
Timber Russell found Slade Russell for a 15-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, giving West Plains a 28-21 advantage.
Another West Plains fumble recovery eventually set up another touchdown pass, this time from Russell to Kade Schneider. The score stretched the Wolves' lead to 35-21 in the fourth quarter and put West Plains in position to knock off the defending state champions.
That's when Wall showed why it entered the season with a championship pedigree.
The Hawks erased the 14-point deficit by scoring 21 unanswered points, turning a 35-21 West Plains advantage into a 42-35 Wall victory.
For West Plains fans, the ending was frustrating. But there were plenty of encouraging signs along the way.
Making his first varsity start as a sophomore, Timber Russell completed 20 of 26 passes for 216 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
Slade Russell was a problem for the Wall defense all night. He carried the ball 21 times for 228 yards and a touchdown while adding six catches for 52 yards and another score.
Schneider led the Wolves' receivers with six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
West Plains also made things happen defensively. Paxton Chandler piled up a game-high 17 tackles and added an interception, while Cash Lofton and Bentley Chandler recorded 14 tackles apiece.
There will certainly be things to clean up. West Plains put the ball on the ground three times, and the Wolves were unable to protect a two-touchdown advantage in the fourth quarter.
Still, taking the defending state champions down to the wire isn't a bad place to start for a team breaking in a new head coach and a sophomore quarterback.
West Plains showed Friday night that it can move the football, create turnovers and make explosive plays.
Now comes the chance to turn those positives into the first win of the season.
