DAVID BARBER

Sports Correspondent

After struggling to a six-point lead at halftime, the undefeated and state-ranked Van Vandals pulled away in the second half Nov. 5 as they shut out the Brownsboro Bears in the second half to take a 48-21 victory at Van’s Memorial Stadium and claim the District 7-4A, Division II, title.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 10-0 overall and 4-0 in district play, will now prepare for the Class 4A, Division II, state playoffs as they will take on the Liberty-Eylau Leopards at Pine Tree Stadium in Longview Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

This will be the fourth meeting in the last two seasons between the Vandals and the Leopards with Van winning the previous three encounters including a tough 27-25 win at Texarkana on Oct. 1.

After holding a 27-21 advantage at halftime against Brownsboro, the Vandals outscored the Bears, 21-0, in the second half to pull away at the end.

Van, ranked number 10 in the state in Class 4A, Division II, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, finished the game against Brownsboro with 19 first downs and 341 yards of total offense including 136 rushing and 205 passing.

Brownsboro registered 21 first downs and 323 yards of total offense including 58 rushing and 265 passing but in the second half, the Bears were limited to 110 yards of total offense (30 rushing and 80 passing) by the Vandal defense.

Van’s aggressive defensive play led to 13 tackles for losses, 10 quarterback sacks, 11 QB pressures and eight batted passes/pass breakups against the Bears.

Offensively, Vandal QB Jackson Rainey completed 10 out of 18 passes for 205 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Rainey also rushed for 24 yards on 11 carries and one TD.

Alex Zifer led the Vandal running game with 96 yards rushing on nine carries and one TD while Luca Kozhev led the receiving group with six receptions for 128 yards and three TD’s.

Defensively, linebacker Beau Barton finished with 15 tackles, three tackles for losses, two QB sacks, and three QB pressures while linebacker Braydon Hullum contributed 10 tackles, two tackles for losses, and one interception runback for a TD.

“I was really proud of the kids,” pointed out Moffatt. “It was obviously a big game to win, not only for the district championship, but to finish the regular season undefeated at 10-0. We did a lot of things well in the game. Our defense settled in. We expected Brownsboro to throw the ball a lot, but we did not expect to see them to line up in so many empty backfield formations. We had to adjust, and I thought our defense did a great job at that. We shut them out in the second half, which was huge.

“I thought our defensive line played really well,” continued Moffatt. “Beau Barton got some pressure on the quarterback. As the game went on, they were not making the throws in the second half that they were making in the first half. We made some big plays in the secondary. Offensively, we played a good game, but not great. We left some points out there especially that final drive in the first half which was disappointing. We ran a total of 42 offensive plays. We had a big kick return early in the game by Brayden Bradshaw. Our kids really played hard, and they really wanted to win because there were so many things to play for.”

Van received the opening kickoff and opened the scoring by advancing 58 yards in six plays as Rainey connected with Kozhev on an 11-yard TD pass play to end the initial offensive drive. Eli Hartman added the extra point giving the Vandals an early 7-0 lead with 9:05 to play in the first quarter. Key plays in Van’s first scoring march included running gains of 15 yards by Zifer and 13 yards by Rainey in addition to a 22-yard pass completion from Rainey to receiver Ryder Shoquist.

Brownsboro responded with a tying TD march on its initial offensive possession as the Bears moved 72 yards in 12 plays.

Bear QB Jaxyn Rogers (28 completions, 42 attempts, 265 yards, two TD’s and two interceptions) ended the drive with a 6-yard TD run. The extra point was good to deadlock the game at 7-7 with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter. Key plays for Brownsboro in its opening scoring drive included two pass completions from Rogers covering 10 yards each to wide receiver Christian Arias and an 11-yard run by Rogers.

The ensuing kickoff broke the tie as Van’s Brayden Bradshaw received the kickoff and raced 75 yards untouched down the sideline for a TD. Hartman added the extra point giving the Vandals a 14-7 lead with 3:20 to play in the first quarter.

Brownsboro rallied with a 50-yard march in four plays as Rogers connected with fullback Jatavien Session on a 19-yard TD pass play. The extra point was good to again tie the game at 14-14 with 1:45 still to play in a wild first quarter of action. A pass completion from Rogers to running back Kyle Nichols covering 24 yards was a key play in the scoring drive for the Bears.

Following a Vandal punt, the Bears had a first down at their own 22 when Rogers’ pass over the middle was intercepted by Van defensive back Reed Johnson and returned to the Brownsboro 31.

Two plays later, Rainey connected with Kozhev on a 19-yard TD pass play giving the Vandals the lead at 20-14 with 11:07 remaining in the second quarter. The extra point attempt by Hartman was wide left. Prior to the TD pass, Zifer ran 12 yards for a first down.

Brownsboro came right back as they moved 66 yards in 10 plays to take the lead as Rogers connected with receiver Vincent Chancellor on a 13-yard TD pass play. The extra point was good giving the Bears a 21-20 advantage with 5:52 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in the scoring drive for what turned out to be the final scoring drive of the game for the Bears included a roughing the passer penalty against the Vandals and pass completions from Rogers covering 10 and 14 yards to RB Dominic Davis and 11 yards to Chancellor.

Van responded with a 58-yard scoring march in five plays as Rainey outraced the Bear defense 18 yards for a TD on third down and 17. Hartman added the extra point giving the Vandals a lead they would not relinquish at 27-21 with 3:14 to play before halftime. Running gains of 33 and 14 yards by Zifer began the go-ahead scoring march for the Vandals.

“That play by Jackson Rainey was a quarterback draw all the way,” recalled Moffatt. “In that situation, they were showing a five-man box. We had six blockers on their five-man box. That play was designed to get 10-12 yards so we would have a good shot to score on fourth down. As it turned out, we scored on third down.”

The Bears faced a fourth down and one at its own 47 on its next series of downs and decided to go for the first down but Rogers was tackled for a three-yard loss giving Van excellent field position at the Brownsboro 45 with 1:45 still to play before intermission.

Four plays later, including a 36-yard pass completion from Rainey to Kozhev and a 10-yard run by Rainey, the Vandals faced a fourth down and goal at the Bear 3-yard line, but the scoring threat ended for Van when Rainey’s pass to Bradshaw in the end zone was incomplete allowing Brownsboro to run out the first half clock.

It was all Van in the second half of play as the Bears were forced to punt on their first possession in the third quarter giving the Vandals good field position at the Van 43 following a 21-yard punt by Brownsboro.

Four plays later, Zifer ran six yards for a TD. Hartman added the extra point extending Van’s advantage to 34-21 with 9:38 to play in the third quarter. Pass completions from Rainey covering 13 yards to Bradshaw and 38 yards to Kozhev set up the TD run by Zifer.

Brownsboro threatened to cut into the Vandal lead on its next offensive possession as they moved from their own 49 to the Vandal 27 in eight plays including an 18-yard pass completion from Rogers to Chancellor.

Facing fourth down and 14 at the Van 27, Rogers was sacked for a six-yard loss by the Vandal defense giving Van possession at its own 33.

Following a bad 15-yard punt by the Vandals, the Bears had good field position at their own 45. Six plays later, including a 12-yard pass completion from Rogers to receiver Alden Green, the Bears had a fourth down and three at the Vandal 35 when Rogers fumbled behind the line of scrimmage with the loose ball being recovered by Barton giving Van possession at the Vandal 23.

Van then began to put the game out of reach as the Vandals moved 77 yards in 11 plays in their next scoring drive as a 12-yard TD pass play from Rainey to Kozhev ended the march. Hartman added the extra point to give the Vandals a 41-21 advantage with 9:01 to play in the fourth quarter. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included pass completions from Rainey covering 24 yards to Zifer and 12 yards to Kozhev in addition to a 15-yard run by Rainey.

The Vandal defense got into the scoring column on Brownsboro’s next offensive series as a third down and eight pass from the Bear 27 by Rogers was tipped and intercepted by Hullum, who returned the ball 31 yards for a TD. Hartman added the extra point giving Van a comfortable 48-21 advantage with 7:38 remaining.

Brownsboro’s final offensive drive saw the Bears advance from their own 25 to the Vandal 11 in 12 plays including a 12-yard run by Nichols and an 18-yard pass completion from Rogers to Nichols but on fourth down and four at the Van 11, Rogers was sacked for a two-yard loss ending the Brownsboro scoring threat and allowing the district champion Vandals to run out the clock.

“We had a really good defensive plan, especially against their top receiver, Gekyle Baker, as we held him to three receptions for 15 yards,” said Moffatt. “Our ability to pressure their quarterback really had an affect as the game went on. K. D. Erskine, Kaison Stanford, Mason Moffatt, Colton Miller and our entire defensive line did a great job. Our linebackers, Beau Barton and Braydon Hullum, played well.

“Offensively, we did not have a ton of plays,” continued Moffatt. “Alex Zifer ran the ball well. We targeted Luca Kozhev quite a bit since he had a freshman covering him. Our receivers blocked well downfield all night, especially on the screen pass to Alex Zifer. I was real proud to see that. In the kicking game, we had a big play early on the return by Brayden Bradshaw. We had some key blocks on that return. Our kickoff coverage was solid. Brayden Bradshaw and Garrett Florey shared the punting duties, and they did a good job. We missed a PAT and we need to make all of them.”

The Vandal head coach also expressed his appreciation to the crowd for their turnout and their enthusiasm during the home season finale Nov. 5.

"Our crowd had an impact on the game and our players appreciated that," said Moffatt. "Brownsboro brought over a big crowd as well. It was like a playoff-type atmosphere in the stands.”

Other defensive statistics against Brownsboro were recently released by the Vandal coaching staff and the numbers were as follows:

Cayden Mitchell, nine tackles and one batted pass/pass breakup; K. D. Erskine, nine tackles, four tackles for losses, four QB sacks, two QB pressures and three batted passes/pass breakups; Reed Johnson, eight tackles and one interception; Garrett Florey, eight tackles and two batted passes/pass breakups; Wyatt Dale, eight tackles; Mason Moffatt, eight tackles, two tackles for losses, three QB sacks and one QB pressure; Ryan Johnson, seven tackles; Kaison Stanford, seven tackles, two tackles for losses, one QB sack, three QB pressures and one batted pass/pass breakup; Colton Miller, six tackles, one fumble recovery and two QB pressures; Reed Parish, five tackles and one batted pass/pass breakup; and Logan Fattig, three tackles.