It’s teacher versus student when Arlington Martin and Duncanville meet in regional round
Bob Wager has been the head coach at Arlington Martin for the past 14 years.
He’ll tell you “I must be getting old,” when speaking about the dozens of former Warriors teaching and coaching at the junior high, high school and college levels.
Eight of his former players are on his staff this season as Martin is 11-1.
The Warriors, No. 10 in the final 6A state rankings, won an area championship for the eighth time under Wager, 71-28 over Odesssa Permian. If they want to reach the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2011, the Warriors will have to go through the top-ranked team in the state, Duncanville (12-0) at noon Friday at AT&T Stadium.
That includes one of Wager’s former players — Joe Hawthorne.
Hawthorne graduated from Martin in 2008, where he was a star defensive tackle.
“Joe was a terrific teammate and very coachable,” Wager said. “Loved coaching him and we’ve kept in touch ever since. I bet he’s a terrific coach now.”
“Coach Wager came to Martin during the spring of my sophomore year and completely changed the program,” Hawthorne added. “First thing he talked about was work ethic and I’ve taken that with me everywhere I’ve gone. I saw the drive, passion and love he had in the game and I try to instill that in my players.”
Hawthorne is in his second season at Duncanville, where he coaches the offensive tackles and tight ends. Last year, the Panthers reached the 6A Division 1 state title game before falling short to North Shore on the final play of the game.
Before Duncanville, Hawthorne left Martin to play at the University of North Texas. He transferred to the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and helped the team win the 2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.
His dream was to go into law enforcement like the rest of his family, but when his football career didn’t go as he had hoped, he got another opportunity.
“I said I’d never go into coaching. I was going into criminal justice,” Hawthorne said. “It was actually during reflection and prayer when my football career ended when I realized my plan was to be a coach. My college coach encouraged me to be a graduate assistant and that’s where I found my passion.”
He became a graduate assistant coach at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, before returning to Texas to coach at Dallas White High School.
“I don’t hide it, I speak it and live by it, but this is the greatest profession in the world,” Wager said. “Makes me proud that my former players can go on and inspire others for the rest of their lives. It’s much more than blocking and tackling, and when done correctly by player and coach, it can create a lifelong relationship.
“Joe worked very hard. Yes, he was talented and loved the game, but more importantly, he loved his teammates and had a great relationship with his coaches and myself. I could see it at a young age, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Added Hawthorne, “After going into coaching, coach Wager was one of the first people I called. I told him the Lord was calling me into this profession and he agreed. He’s been there every step. He was my first reference and my mentor throughout this whole process.”
Duncanville and Martin have scrimmaged one another each of the past two seasons.
But Friday’s game has a little more weight to it.
“It’s a very interesting experience. Most of the coaches on Wager’s staff are either Martin coaches when I played or former teammates I used to play with,” Hawthorne said. “I know all of them and they’re family, but I know how competitive they are. I have so much respect for them.”
Joe had two younger brothers play at Martin; Wesley was a wide receiver and Devin was a defensive back. He even has a cousin, Nate, who is an assistant basketball coach for the Warriors.
When asked if there was any texting between the two before the game, both laughed and said “no, it’s all business this week.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 8:00 AM.
