DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

District 8-4A, Division 2, action began Sept. 22 as the Van Vandals took care of business against the previously undefeated Brownsboro Bears in Brownsboro with Van building up a 14-point lead at halftime and never looking back in a 28-7 victory.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals are now 4-1 overall but more importantly, they are 1-0 in district play while the Bears suffered their first defeat of the 2023 campaign as their record is now 4-1 overall and 0-1 in district action.

The Vandals will host their VZC rival, the Canton Eagles (2-3, 0-1) in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Sept. 29 at Van’s Memorial Stadium. The Eagles lost their district opener Sept. 22 at home against the Center Rough Riders, 57-34.

The Vandals finished their district opener with 23 first downs and 473 yards of total offense including 291 yards rushing and 182 yards passing.

Vandal quarterback Jaxon Moffatt put up some impressive numbers as he completed seven out of 10 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions in addition to carrying the ball 13 times for 170 yards rushing.

His twin brother, Austin Moffatt, contributed 59 yards rushing on 16 carries and caught a 52-yard pass from Jaxon Moffatt. Wide receiver Easton Hinch caught two passes for 82 yards and one TD.

Brownsboro finished with 11 first downs and 230 yards of total offense including 109 yards rushing and 121 yards passing.

Van’s defense held the Bears to 75 yards of total offense in the second half while shutting out Brownsboro over the final three quarters of action.

Two Vandal defenders finished with double digit tackles as defensive tackle Logan Fattig had 11 tackles followed by linebacker Wyatt Dale with 10 tackles.

“It is great to be 1-0 in district in terms of setting your course to make the playoffs,” pointed out Jared Moffatt. “Winning that first district game is always huge for us. I was pleased with our start to go ahead 14-0. We fumbled inside the 5-yard line which is unfortunate. Right now, that is our biggest concern moving forward. We have put the ball on the ground too much and that will get you beat. I thought overall we played a really good first half. We should have been ahead 35-7 at halftime.

“Offensively, we did a lot of things well, but we did not finish some drives,” continued Jared Moffatt. “Defensively, I was real proud of our effort there. We held them to seven points which was big. We held them to three out of 12 on third down. Our defense and our defensive coaching staff did a great job.”

The Vandals wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard first as they received the opening kickoff and advanced 69 yards on nine consecutive running plays.

Cannon Rainey, operating out of the Vandals’ ‘Rhino’ short yardage and goal-line formation at QB, swan-dived over the center of the line for a 1-yard TD run. New kicker Josh Christian, filling in for an injured Aiden Moore, drilled the extra point giving the Vandals a 7-0 lead with 7:30 remaining in the first quarter. A 36-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt on the first play from scrimmage was a key play in Van’s opening scoring drive.

Following a Brownsboro punt, the Vandals moved down the field once again as they advanced 63 yards in three plays to extend their lead. RB Colton Miller ended the short march with a 5-yard TD run. Christian added the extra point giving the Vandals a 14-0 advantage with 5:33 to play in the first quarter. A 53-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hinch opened the TD drive for the Vandals.

Brownsboro came right back on its next offensive series and moved 66 yards in six plays to cut into the Vandal lead.

Bear RB Antrone Campbell (20 carries, 113 yards) ended the march with a 9-yard TD run. Bralen Kirkpatrick added the extra point cutting Van’s advantage to 14-7 with 3:01 still remaining in the first quarter. A 31-yard run by Campbell and a 24-yard pass completion on fourth down and eight from QB Adam Thompson to tight end Beau Hardin were key plays in what turned out to be Brownsboro’s only scoring drive of the contest.

The Vandals responded by moving from their own 30 to the Brownsboro 6-yard line in four plays including a 52-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Austin Moffatt and a 10-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt.

The scoring threat ended for the Vandals on second down and goal as Austin Moffatt fumbled with the Bears recovering the ball at the Brownsboro 24.

Brownsboro moved the ball as deep as the Vandal 48 in 10 plays including a 16-yard run by Campbell and a 26-yard pass completion from Thompson to Hardin, but the Vandal defense stiffened and forced the Bears to punt.

The punt by Brownsboro was downed at the Vandal 1-yard line giving Van poor field position but the Vandals would respond to the challenge as they put together a long time-consuming drive of 99 yards in nine plays to extend their lead.

Jaxon Moffatt connected with Hinch on a 29-yard TD pass play to end the drive. Christian added the extra point giving the Vandals a 21-7 lead with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included a 13-yard run by reserve sophomore RB Da’Quavius Williams and a 14-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Miller.

Brownsboro later faced a fourth down and six at midfield and decided to go for it, but the Vandal defense tackled Thompson for no gain giving the Vandals excellent field position with 49 seconds to play before halftime, but Van could not take advantage of the opportunity and went into the locker room with a 14-point lead at intermission.

“Offensively, we knew we had to finish drives,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “I believed we should have scored every time we had the ball. Defense did their job in the second half. It seemed like offensively, we kept finding ways to keep Brownsboro in the game. That was frustrating. We stopped ourselves offensively. We have to play better offensively. That is our challenge moving forward.”

In the third quarter, the Bears had another fourth down opportunity at the Vandal 42 but on fourth down and 10, Thompson’s pass to Campbell gained only three yards giving Van possession at their own 39 but one play later, Williams fumbled with the Bears recovering the ball at the Vandal 40.

Van’s defense stiffened and forced another turnover on downs from Brownsboro as a fourth down and 10 pass from Thompson to WR Gekyle Baker at the Van 26 was incomplete giving the ball right back to the Vandals.

The Vandals advanced from their own 26 to the Bear 46 in seven plays including running gains of 14 and 10 yards by Jaxon Moffatt and a 10-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to WR Caden Rowe but on fourth down and six at the Brownsboro 46, the pass from Jaxon Moffatt to H-back Wyatt Dale was incomplete giving Brownsboro possession.

“On the fourth and one, we changed our personnel grouping,” said Jared Moffatt. “I thought the play clock was operating a little fast. We then switched personnel groupings again. After our false start penalty, I thought we still had a good play called but it was not quite as open as I thought it would be. We just didn’t make the play. I think we would have scored on that drive had we made that fourth down play.”

Van’s defense again later forced another Brownsboro punt and took over controls at their own 11 to begin their final scoring drive of the game as a scoreless third quarter of play came to a close.

Moving 89 yards in six plays, the Vandals put the game out of reach for the Bears as Jaxon Moffatt connected with WR Austin Johnson on a 20-yard TD pass play. Christian kicked his fourth extra point of the game to close out the scoring as the Vandals took a 28-7 lead with 9:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. Key plays in the final scoring march for the Vandals included an 11-yard run by Austin Moffatt and running gains of 30 and 26 yards by Jaxon Moffatt.

Brownsboro’s final offensive drive saw the Bears advance from their own 38 to the Vandal 36 in six plays including a 34-yard pass play from Thompson to Hardin but on fourth down and 14, Thompson’s pass to RB Dominic Davis Jr. was incomplete giving the ball back to Van.

For the third game in a row, the Vandals impressively ran out the final six minutes-plus of the game without giving the ball back to their opponent as they advanced as deep as the Brownsboro 7-yard line in 11 plays (10 running) to end the game. The final offensive drive for the Vandals featured a 19-yard run by Austin Moffatt.

“It has been remarkable that we have done that three games in a row and it has been a huge luxury for us,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “That is a huge weapon for us going forward. Our offensive line is playing really well.

“I don’t know that I would say that our defensive performance was our best this season, but we did a lot of things well,” summarized Jared Moffatt. “We have played against some really good offenses this season. Our pass rush was good against Brownsboro and the back end of our defense played well.”

The Vandal coaching staff released the following individual defensive statistics from the Brownsboro game and the numbers were as follows:

Logan Fattig, 11 total tackles, two tackles for losses, and three QB pressures; Wyatt Dale, 10 total tackles and one tackle for a loss; Cade Christensen, nine total tackles; Foster Rust, eight total tackles and one tackle for a loss; Colton Miller, six total tackles and three QB pressures; Luke Horton, six total tackles, one tackle for a loss, one batted pass/pass breakup, and two QB pressures; Cannon Rainey, five total tackles and three batted passes/pass breakups; Tuff Arozemena, five total tackles, two tackles for losses, one batted pass/pass breakup, and two QB pressures; Reggie Johnson, five total tackles; Easton Hinch, three total tackles and two batted passes/pass breakups; Gabe Bachert, two total tackles; Anthony Skitt, two total tackles; Josh Christian, one total tackle; Bruce Shaw, one total tackle; Garrett Phillips, one total tackle; and Armando Lozano, one total tackle.

Moffatt recognized the individual performances of defensive back Cannon Rainey, offensive lineman Ace Bostick, cornerback Gabe Bachert, cornerback Hinch, defensive back Cade Christensen, linebacker Luke Horton, defensive tackle Armando Lozano, defensive lineman Bruce Shaw, defensive end Anthony Skitt, linebacker Wyatt Dale, defensive end Logan Fattig, offensive tackle Jose Suarez, center Justus Anderson, H-back Colten Grier, and offensive lineman Joe Ruiz.