DAVID BARBER

Sports Correspondent

While the Van Vandal offense overcame a slow start, their defense dominated throughout as they easily took care of business at Rusk Oct. 6 in a 35-3 blowout victory against the Rusk Eagles for their fifth straight win.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in District 8-4A play, remain one of three undefeated teams in the district along with the overall undefeated and number-one ranked team in the state in Class 4A, Division 2, the Carthage Bulldogs (3-0 in district) and the state-ranked Center Rough Riders (2-0).

The Vandals will host Center in a crucial district matchup with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13 at Van’s Memorial Stadium. Center will be coming off their bye week. The Vandals visit Carthage Friday, Oct. 27 after Van’s bye week Oct. 20.

Against Rusk, the Vandals finished with 18 first downs and 313 yards of total offense including 161 yards rushing and 152 yards passing.

Vandal quarterback Jaxon Moffatt continued his strong play as he completed nine out of 14 passes for 152 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions and he also carried the ball 12 times for 22 yards and one TD.

Reserve running back and QB Cannon Rainey carried the ball six times for 65 yards to lead the Vandal running attack.

RB Austin Moffatt caught four passes for 101 yards and two TD’s in addition to carrying the ball eight times for 20 yards and one TD. Jackson Admire also caught a 34-yard TD pass from Jaxon Moffatt.

Van’s defense shut down the Rusk offense holding the Eagles to eight first downs and 112 yards of total offense including 13 yards rushing and 99 yards passing.

Linebacker Wyatt Dale had nine total tackles and one batted pass/pass breakup and linebacker Foster Rust had nine total tackles, and two batted passes/pass breakups to lead the Vandal defense.

“I can’t say enough about how well our defense played against Rusk,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “Rusk had scored at least 30 points in every game they have played in this season. Our defense did a tremendous job. Their quarterback is a really good player, and our defensive line did a great job putting pressure on him and making him feel uncomfortable. We tackled well.

“We needed our defense to start the game well because we were so slow getting started on offense,” continued the Vandal head coach. “We punted more times in the first half than we did the previous five games combined. Our offense did not get going throughout the first quarter. We just did not execute early offensively like we had done in previous games. In the second half, we played much better offensively.”

Van’s offense struggled early in the game as a fumble by Van RB Colton Miller on the first play from scrimmage resulting in a Rusk recovery at the Eagle 35.

Six plays later, including an 11-yard pass completion from Rusk QB Brady Barrier to wide receiver Brayden Grimes, the Eagles were in a fourth down and four situation at the Vandal 6-yard line.

Rusk sent in their kicker, Carlos Galan, to attempt a 23-yard field goal and the attempt was good giving the Eagles their only points and their only lead of the contest, 3-0, with 9:11 remaining in the first quarter.

An 11-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt on the next Vandal offensive series ended a short time later when the Vandal QB was sacked for an 11-yard loss setting up a Van punt.

The two teams exchanged punts before Rusk threatened to extend its advantage as the Eagles faced fourth down and three at the Vandal 34 when Barrier was sacked for a two-yard loss giving Van possession at the Vandal 36.

From that point on, the Vandals began to put a complete team effort together as their offense moved 64 yards in seven plays to take the lead.

On the first play of the second quarter, the Moffatt twins got Van on the scoreboard as QB Jaxon connected with RB Austin on a 40-yard TD pass play. Josh Christian added the extra point giving the Vandals a 7-3 lead with 11:54 to play in the second quarter. An 11-yard run by Austin Moffatt was a key play in Van’s first scoring drive.

Following another exchange of punts, including a poor four-yard punt by the Eagles, the Vandals were able to extend their advantage before halftime as they moved 61 yards in five plays with Jaxon Moffatt connecting with slot receiver Admire on a 34-yard TD pass play. Christian added the extra point giving Van a 14-3 advantage with 1:15 remaining in the second quarter. An 11-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Austin Moffatt opened the scoring march for the Vandals.

“At halftime, we knew our defense was playing well and we needed them to maintain that intensity for the second half,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “We challenged our offense at halftime. We needed to execute better. We made a couple of adjustments in the running game that helped us in the second half. We just needed to take care of our business and I thought we did that better in the second half. It was a frustrating first half offensively. I thought our kids responded well in the second half.”

Rusk received the third quarter kickoff and moved from its own 27 to the Vandal 32 in eight plays including a 12-yard pass completion from Barrier to Bricion Griffin and a personal foul penalty against the Vandals.

The scoring threat for the Eagles ended at that point on third down and 10 when Barrier fumbled as he was sacked behind the line of scrimmage with Van defensive end Tuff Arozamena recovering the ball at the Vandal 40.

From that point on, the Vandal defense held Rusk to no first downs, 10 yards of total offense, and four punts for the remainder of the contest.

Van’s offense continued to stretch its advantage as they moved 60 yards on eight consecutive running plays with Jaxon Moffatt ending the march with a 2-yard TD run. Christian added the extra point giving the Vandals a 21-3 lead with 4:52 to play in the third quarter. Running gains of 19 and 15 yards by Rainey were key plays in the Vandal scoring drive.

“Rusk was going to make running the football as difficult as possible,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “They wanted to outnumber us in the box. They forced us, to a degree, to throw the football. We utilized the strength of our offense which is our offensive line. They were so aggressive against the run that we were able to slip Austin and Jackson out for some big TD pass plays. Rusk was committed to stopping the run against us.”

After a Rusk punt, the Vandals advanced 68 yards in only three plays as Jaxon Moffatt connected with Austin Moffatt on a 50-yard TD pass play. Christian added the extra point giving Van a 28-3 advantage with 2:22 to play in the third quarter. Reserve RB Chris Fabian began the drive with a 13-yard run.

Following another Eagle punt, the Vandals completed the scoring by moving 58 yards in 10 plays with Austin Moffatt ending the drive with a 5-yard TD run. Christian added the extra point giving the Vandals a 35-3 lead with 7:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. A 19-yard run by Rainey was a key play in Van’s final TD march.

Defensive statistics for the game against Rusk were recently released by the Vandal coaching staff and the numbers were as follows:

Wyatt Dale, nine total tackles, and one batted pass/pass breakup; Foster Rust, nine total tackles and two batted passes/pass breakups; Cannon Rainey, seven total tackles;; Cade Christensen, seven total tackles, and one tackle for a loss; Logan Fattig, seven total tackles, three tackles for losses, two QB sacks, one fumble caused, two QB pressures, and one batted pass/pass breakup; Tuff Arozamena, seven total tackles, three tackles for losses, one QB sack, one fumble caused, and four QB pressures; Gabe Bachert, six total tackles, and two batted passes/pass breakups; Colten Miller, five total tackles, two tackles for losses, two QB sacks, one fumble recovery, four QB pressures, and one batted pass/pass breakup; Garrett Phillips, five total tackles; Reggie Johnson, four total tackles; Luke Horton, three total tackles, and one batted pass/pass breakup; Anthony Skitt, three total tackles; Josh Christian, two total tackles; Bruck Shaw, two total tackles and one QB pressure; Easton Hinch, two total tackles, one tackles for a loss, and two batted passes/pass breakups; Armando Lozano, two total tackles; Montrell Rogers, two total tackles; Jackson Reed, one total tackle; and Jake Campuzano, one total tackle.

Against Rusk, Jared Moffatt recognized the individual performances of Hinch, Austin Moffatt, Rust, Bachert, Rainey, Christensen, Admire, Miller, Jaxon Moffatt, center Justus Anderson, Jose Suarez, Ace Bostick, Cooper Hullum, Trae Derrick, Christian, Fabian, and kickoff specialist Alex Aceves.