WALLACE –– It’s been 10 long years since the Wallace Miners were the outright league champions on the gridiron. When the final horn sounded on Friday night at Sather Field, it was accompanied by raucous cheers, high-fives, hugs, and maybe even a few tears.  

The Miners had climbed back to the top of the North Star League mountain, while also vanquishing a foe in Lakeside, who had made life difficult for them over the past few years. Now, the Miners get a week off while a handful of play-in games take place. They have a few ideas who they might play in the first round, but nothing is set in stone yet.  

Senior Julian Davis and freshmen Cooper Miller were two of the pillars responsible for Wallace’s 8-1 record this year; Davis, a 6’3” wide receiver and defensive back, and Miller, a freshman quarterback and safety, were consistently among the best players in the state at the 8-man level. Together they brought a level of skill and swagger that the Miners had been missing for a few seasons.  

Miller came into his freshmen season with more than a little hype. After successfully navigating and dominating the area junior tackle league program, he was immediately thrust into the starting varsity quarterback position – not exactly the ideal situation for a freshman.  

“At the beginning of the season there was a lot of pressure, I just didn’t know what to expect,” Miller said. “Even that first game, it was different. High school is faster, more physical, but I think I was able to adjust pretty well. My team helped me through and we were able to lift each other up and win some games.”  

Miller may be just a little modest about how well he adjusted.  

In nine games he threw for 1,712 yards and 26 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He also rushed for 1,501 yards and 23 touchdowns.  

Meanwhile, Davis in his final year as the team’s primary target, caught 50 balls for 13 touchdowns, while also adding a pair of rushing scores. He also finished the season with five interceptions, two of which he returned for scores.  

These statistics may be jarring, but they represent just how important the pair was to Wallace’s success this season, but you would have no idea about these numbers if you asked them how this year went. Instead, they tell you how it was the actions of other guys, like Cameron Flood, Reece Williams, or Garrett Clark.  

“Garrett was the glue for our team this year,” Miller said. “He kept us up when things got tough. All of our seniors were great, but Garrett made sure we were a family this year.”  

The Miners had stringed together three straight wins to open the season before they tripped up on the road against Lakeside in September. A game they started out really strong in but faltered down the stretch. According to both Miller and Davis, it was that loss, plus a big win a few weeks later propelled them to finishing the season strong.  

“We were always trying to build, but when we lost at Lakeside, we knew we had some work that we needed to do,” Miller said. “When we played at Genesee, it felt like we had plateaued, but after winning that game we started rising again.”  

Davis had been a part of a middling Wallace squad during his freshmen season, that went 3-5, won a tiebreaker, and subsequently got waxed by Oakley in the opening round of the playoffs. He entered his senior year hoping to have a good season but never imagined he’d be one of the main cogs of a Miner wagon.  

Davis' first 16 touchdowns of the season were great. Touchdown 17 meant a lot more.  

Tied at 46 with less than two minutes to go, Davis picked off Lakeside quarterback Tyson Charley and took it to the house. One conversion later, Wallace led 54-46. But Davis wasn’t quite done yet. He snatched another pass out of the air as Lakeside was desperately trying to go downfield for the tie, icing the game for the Miners and securing a playoff berth.

But again, if you ask him, his biggest moment was due to the work of others.  

“Reece and Cameron were doing really good at containing and they forced him (Charley) to throw off his back foot,” Davis recalled. “I knew it wasn’t going to be as good a throw as he usually throws, it went short and it fell right in my arms.”  

For now, the Miners will prepare as they have all season.  

But with Davis and Miller guiding the ship, they’ll be ready for whoever they get next weekend.  

“Players like Cooper and Julian are invaluable to both this season and the long-term success of our football program,” Wallace Head Coach Jared Young said. “Both players embody the values and work ethic that define our program. They're not just talented athletes, they're role models who inspire their teammates and uplift our community.”