DAVID BARBER

Sports Correspondent

A struggling start ended in a fantastic finish for the Van Vandals in their regular season opener Aug. 25 as they rallied from a 10-point deficit twice in the first half to overtake the Pine Tree Pirates, 24-17, at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 1-0 for the season, will hit the road for their next two non-district matchups starting with a visit to state-ranked Chapel Hill to take on the Chapel Hill Bulldogs in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Sept. 1.

Against the Pirates, the Vandals trailed 10-0 and 17-7 in the second quarter before beginning their comeback as they were able to shrink their deficit to three points at halftime, 17-14.

In the second half, the Vandals outscored the Pirates 10-0 as they tied the game with a field goal late in the third quarter before scoring what proved to be the winning touchdown with 5:16 to play in the game.

Offensively, the Vandals finished with 23 first downs and 362 yards of total offense including 190 yards rushing and 172 yards passing while the Pirates had 11 first downs and 349 yards of total offense including 192 yards rushing and 157 yards passing. The Vandals ran 70 offensive plays from scrimmage compared to 42 for Pine Tree.

In the second half, Van’s defense held Pine Tree to 126 yards of total offense while posting a shutout in the final two quarters of action.

Vandal junior defensive back Cade Christensen, playing in his first varsity game, led the defense with 17 tackles (nine unassisted and eight assisted).

“It was great to win,” said Jared Moffatt. “Their defensive line is really good. Their team speed caused us some problems. We did a lot of things to find a way to lose but yet, we found a way to win the game. We challenged the kids to play harder and longer than they do. We needed to outfight them, and I think we did that, especially in the third and fourth quarters. We did not execute well on offense but at the end of the game, we just outfought them. I was proud of our kids’ determination.”

Van took the opening kickoff and moved 82 yards in 12 plays including a 37-yard run by reserve quarterback Cannon Rainey, operating out of the Vandals’ ‘rhino’ short yardage and goal-line formation, and a 16-yard pass completion from QB Jaxon Moffatt to wide receiver Caden Rowe as they advanced the ball from its own 18 to the Pirate 6-yard line.

On third down and goal, the scoring threat ended as quarterback Jaxon Moffatt’s pass into the end zone was picked off on a diving interception by Pine Tree DB Kalil Deckard.

It only took the Pirates two plays to move 80 yards and take the early lead as Pine Tree QB Matt Cates raced 53 yards for a touchdown after he completed a 17-yard pass play to wide receiver Tre Brown. Alex Mireles added the extra point giving Pine Tree a 7-0 lead with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter.

Following a Vandal punt, Pine Tree’s next offensive possession resulted in a turnover as Cates’ pass on first down at the Van 43 was intercepted by Van DB Easton Hinch at the Vandal 44.

After another Vandal punt, the Pirates moved from their own 25 to the Vandal 6-yard line in seven plays including a 50-yard run by running back L’Marion Hunter and an 11-yard run by Cates.

Facing fourth down and five, the Pirates decided to go for the field goal and Mireles responded with a 23-yard FG extending Pine Tree’s lead to 10-0 with 9:54 to play in the second quarter.

The Vandals rallied with their first scoring drive of the 2023 campaign as they moved 72 yards in six plays.

Jaxon Moffatt (13 completions, 27 attempts, 172 yards, two TD’s, one interception) ended the march with a 29-yard TD pass to WR Asher Hawkins (10 receptions, 126 yards). Aiden Moore added the extra point cutting Van’s deficit to 10-7 with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter. A 10-yard run by sophomore RB Da’Quavion Williams was a key play in the scoring drive for the Vandals.

Pine Tree needed one play to extend their advantage back to 10 points as Cates connected with WR Jordan Taylor on a 67-yard TD pass play. Mireles added the extra point giving the Pirates a 17-7 lead with 7:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Van bounced right back to close the gap before halftime as they moved 75 yards in eight plays with Jaxon Moffatt completing a 17-yard TD pass play to Rowe to end the march. Moore added the extra point cutting Van’s deficit to 17-14 with 3:57 remaining before intermission. Key plays in the scoring drive for the Vandals included an 11-yard run by RB Austin Moffatt and a 20-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hawkins. The two teams then exchanged punts before halftime.

Following an exchange of punts to open the third quarter of play, the Vandals moved from their own 24 to the Pine Tree 11 in 10 plays including pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt covering 11 and 20 yards to Hawkins.

Facing fourth down and five at the Pirate 11, Moore was sent in to attempt a 28-yard FG and the kick was good to tie the game at 17-17 with 56 seconds to play in the third quarter.

“That was interesting strategy going for the field goal,” said Jared Moffatt. “I thought we had a good opportunity on third down, but we did not complete the pass. I thought that down three, we had a great chance to tie the game and our defense was playing well. Aiden Moore did a great job on that kick. Garrett Phillips was our deep snapper and Gabe Bachert was the holder and those guys did a great job as well.”

After another exchange of punts, the Vandals took over possession at their own 28. On first down, a fumble by Williams was picked up by Van offensive lineman Jose Suarez, who rumbled down the field for a 20-yard gain giving the Vandals a bizarre first down at the Pirate 44, but Van was later forced to punt ending the possession.

Following a Pine Tree punt, the Vandals started what proved to be the game-winning TD drive at their own 49 with 8:28 to play in the game.

Seven plays later, including a 14-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hawkins, the Vandals had a third down and one at the Pirate 4-yard line.

A fumble by RB Colton Miller as he was penetrating toward the end zone resulted in the ball bouncing in the end zone with a mass of humanity piling up to gain possession.

As the officials began to un-pile the players in the end zone, Van offensive lineman Trae Derrick held up the ball for a TD. Moore added the extra point giving the Vandals their first lead of the contest, 24-17, with 5:16 remaining.

Pine Tree’s final offensive possession started from their own 28 as they advanced as deep as the Vandal 28 in five plays including running gains of 13 and 29 yards by Cates.

Van’s defense rose to the occasion as they sacked Cates and forced an illegal procedure penalty against the Pirates later forcing a fourth down and 23 situation at the Vandal 41.

A pass completion over the middle from Cates to Brown was good for 18 yards but Brown was tackled five yards short of the first down marker giving the Vandals the opportunity to run out the clock with 1:39 remaining as the Pirates were out of timeouts.

“We really showed a lot of guts defensively in that last drive,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “We just dug down deep. They really battled on that last Pine Tree drive.”

“The heat was a factor but our mentality about the heat came into play as well,” pointed out Jared Moffatt. “Are you willing to overcome being tired and still be able to compete. The heat was a factor for both teams Friday night. We dug down deep.”

The Vandal head coach also discussed the play of his offense against the Pirates. “I felt like we should have scored more points with the number of first downs we got against Pine Tree,” said Jared Moffatt. “We did not have a bunch of big plays. We ran 28 more plays than they did. We threw an interception in the end zone on our first possession. We made the plays we had to make. We were fortunate. We need to clean up some things. We wasted a lot of plays against Pine Tree.

“Defensively, we did some really good things,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “We missed some plays in the first half that we made in the second half. We were about six inches away from them scoring 21 points on us. We know that we have some things to improve on. Coach Rainey and our defensive staff did a great job, especially with the adjustments made at halftime. We just executed better in the second half.”

Jared Moffatt recognized the efforts of Hawkins, Christiansen, Miller, Austin Moffatt, Williams, Cannon Rainey, Tuff Arozamena, Logan Fattig, Reggie Johnson, Wyatt Dale, Foster Rust, Luke Horton, and Justus Anderson.

Defensive statistics released by the Vandal coaching staff following the Pine Tree game revealed the following numbers:

Cade Christiansen, nine unassisted and eight assisted tackles; Tuff Arozamena, seven unassisted tackles and two assisted tackles, and one QB sack; Cannon Rainey, three unassisted and three assisted tackles; Logan Fatig, four unassisted tackles, one assisted tackle, one batted pass/pass breakup and one QB pressure; Gabe Bachert, four unassisted tackles and four assisted tackles; Colton Miller, one unassisted tackle, two assisted tackles and three QB pressures; Luke Horton, three assisted tackles and one batted pass/pass breakup; Reggie Johnson, two unassisted tackles and two QB pressures; Josh Christian, one unassisted tackle, one assisted tackle and one tackle for a loss; Garrett Phillips, one unassisted tackle and one assisted tackle; and Easton Hinch, two assisted tackles and one interception.