A wise social studies teacher – and there are many of them at The Hall – once said, "History repeats itself."

The Pauls Valley Panthers bounded onto Pop Murray Memorial Field hoping that wouldn't be the case. Despite a very solid season last year, the Panthers ran into a title-hungry Heritage Hall squad led by Gavin Freeman to open the 2021 playoffs – and ultimately proved no match for the Chargers, losing 59-20.

Fast-forward to 2022, and Pauls Valley found themselves in the same district with the Chargers after OSSAA realignment. There is little doubt the Panthers circled the September 30th game against The Hall on their calendar, hoping for a chance at redemption against the blue and gold.

Before the game, Heritage Hall crowned new Homecoming royalty as seniors Sebastian Perry and Olivia Walker walked the red carpet toward the sideline as King & Queen.

The Panthers received the opening kick and worked the clock for almost four minutes, picking up a first down on third and long. However, facing fourth and three from their own 43 yard line, the visitors ran a QB counter play that junior defensive lineman Charlie Ghaniabadi stuffed for a loss and turnover on downs.

It only took three plays and less than a minute off the game clock for The Hall to find the end zone. Junior quarterback Andy Bass connected over the middle with Jordyn Harris on a 37-yard strike for a 7-0 lead.

On the next series, Orie Walker dropped into the flat and hawked an out route for an interception to give the Chargers the ball just inside the red zone. Bass connected with Walker on a 16 yard screen pass to the two yard line. River Faulkner danced untouched into the end zone for a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Charger defense held on the next three offensive plays. Jack Harris busted through the line to block a punt that was retrieved by the punter before River Faulkner dropped him for another turnover on downs. Heritage Hall was fired up and carried all the momentum onward.

As the clock wound down on the first frame, Bass took a fourth down snap and rolled right to find a wide open, back-peddling Cooper Cookson in the end zone. With an unconventional 19-0 lead after Carter Counts' rare missed extra point on the previous touchdown, head coach Brett Bogert '05 went for a two-point conversion. Bass connected with Liam Burton just inside the goal-line for a more traditional, yet impressive, early 21-0 lead.

Having been punched in the mouth, the Panthers decided to take more risks on their next possession. However, on the first play of the series, lockdown cornerback Jordyn Harris snagged his second interception of the season at The Hall's 33 yard line – and the Charger offense trotted back onto the field to do more damage.

Facing third and four, Faulkner followed hulking blocks from pulling linemen Ghaniabadi and Zavier Freeman to a huge gain. After a pair of incompletions, Bass found junior wideout Rashaud Smith who darted and then tumbled down to the Panther seven yard line. Faulkner punched it into the end zone again and the Chargers took a commanding 28-0 lead into the second quarter.

After another three-and-out by the Charger defense, Pauls Valley got their first takeaway of the game on an interception near midfield. The Panthers connected on a deep pass into the red zone, and then again on an out route to the two yard line, before scoring on a quarterback sneak to stop the bleeding and make it 28-7.

The Charger offense then put together a grinder of a drive with multiple 10-yard plays coming on runs from Faulkner and Bass, as well as passes to Walker and Smith. Once inside the red zone, The Hall mishandled two shotgun snaps, but Bass erased the second fumble by scooping it up and outrunning the defense to the front pylon for a 35-7 lead with 4 minutes until halftime.

The Panthers went back to the run, churning the clock, but picking up no yardage on three consecutive plays. On the ensuing punt, Faulkner blocked his man into the kick. As the ball careened toward the goal line, Barrett Travis pounced on it for another seven Charger points.

Pauls Valley continued to stay true to their patented rushing attack, and it finally worked. Pin-balling through the first two lines of the defense, junior running back Rayne Major broke several tackles and burst 71 yards to paydirt.

With under a minute left to play, the Chargers took advantage of an opportunity to practice their two-minute offense. Aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty, The Hall found themselves knocking on the door with 13 seconds remaining until the break. Bass connected with fullback Liam Burton on a 4-yard touchdown pass to seize a 49-14 halftime lead.

With a running clock in the second half, the Chargers pounded the ground until Faulkner capped off a long drive with the final Charger points of the contest. The Panthers would add six more against the Charger reserves in the fourth quarter, but the final score was 56-20 in favor of the home team.

At the game's conclusion, the scoreboard appeared a near facsimile of last year's round one playoff; a repeat of recent history, in fact.

Leading the air raid was Andy Bass. The junior quarterback really found a rhythm, connecting on 22 of 28 passes for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. Senior wideout Orie Walker was his top target, hauling in 6 passes for 78 yards. River Faulkner put up his third straight 100-yard rushing game (14 carries, 118 yards) with 3 touchdowns. 

Defensively, the Chargers were led by Faulkner (10 tackles, sack, blocked punt), Cookson (7 tackles, 3 for loss), Burton (6 tackles, 2 for loss), and Travis (6 tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss, fumble recovery touchdown). Defensive coordinator Mark Adams '77 has to be elated to have his linebacker corps back at full strength.

The victory propelled the Chargers to a three-way tie atop the District standings – with #8 Plainview (4-1, 2-0) and #10 Sulphur (3-1, 2-0). Before The Hall faces either of those challenges, they'll square off the next two weeks at struggling Douglass (2-3, 0-2) and then host last place Dickson (0-5, 0-2).

Kickoff against the Trojans is slated for 7:00pm on Friday, October 7th – the first day of Heritage Hall's Fall Break. The drive to Dallas goes through Douglass this weekend; make a stop to cheer the Chargers onward before partaking in the Red River Rivalry.

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Dawn Freeman