Vandals close out non-district schedule at Paris Friday, Sept. 16
DAVID BARBER
For the first time this season, Van Vandal Head Football Coach Jared Moffatt will witness how his team responds after an emotional defeat when the Vandals travel to Paris for their final non-district contest against the Paris Wildcats Friday, Sept. 16 in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Moffatt is confident that his 2-1 team will answer the bell ready to go against winless Paris, 0-3, after the Vandals suffered their first loss of the season to one of their rivals, the Lindale Eagles, 30-27, on Homecoming night Sept. 9 at Van’s Memorial Stadium.
“We have to learn from the mistakes we made against Lindale and get better,” emphasized Moffatt. “That is our biggest challenge right now. We have to move forward. Our mindsets have to be about Paris right now. We can’t let the result of our last game against Lindale affect our next game against Paris. We have to get better and make some corrections as we approach our game at Paris.
“I am confident that our team will bounce back and play well against Paris,” continued the Vandal head coach. “We need to lean on the guys that have played a lot of varsity games to get everybody prepared and ready to play against Paris. We have to establish our mindset during practice. The task at hand is to beat Paris Friday night (Sept. 16).”
Moffatt warns those who might be misled by the 0-3 record posted by Paris this season and think that the Wildcats are not a good football team.
“Their three losses have been to Liberty-Eylau, Celina, and Gilmer,” pointed out Moffatt. “Those are good football teams. There has never been a year that I can remember going all the way back when I lived in Sulphur Springs back in 1989 that Paris has not had a talented football team. This year is no exception. Paris has talented football players. They generally have good team speed.”
This will be the first regular season meeting between the Vandals and the Wildcats. In their last meeting, the Vandals defeated the Wildcats in the state playoffs in 2016 to advance to the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
“Offensively, Paris is a Wing-T team,” said Moffatt. “They run the ball well. They made a quarterback change last week. They are a scary team to defend. Defensively, they will show multiple looks. They are similar to Pine Tree. Pine Tree’s defensive coordinator was at Paris last year. Paris’ secondary is showing a lot of different looks. We will have our hands full at their place.
“This week, it is not as much about Paris as it is about us,” emphasized Moffatt. “We have to turn our mindset toward Paris and focus on what we need to do to be a better football team. Everybody on our football team will have to play better this week than they did last week. We did not do the things necessary last week for us to win the football game. That has to change this week. We must establish that.”
In past seasons, the open date on the Vandals’ football schedule has occurred between the final non-district game and the start of district play but that will not be the case in 2022.
Following their non-district trip to Paris, the Vandals will jump right into their District 8-4A, Division 2, schedule when they host the Brownsboro Bears in their district opener Friday, Sept. 23.
Moffatt said that not having that extra time to prepare for their district opener could play into decisions about playing time heading into the non-district contest at Paris.
“It might figure in depending upon situations but at the same time, we have one focus on our minds right now and that is preparing well to go to Paris and win the game Friday night (Sept. 16),” emphasized Moffatt. “We will worry about next week when next week gets here. Depending on how the game goes against Paris, playing time might become a factor for some of our players. Nobody is thinking about Brownsboro. Our focus right now is on Paris.”
The Vandal freshmen and junior varsity teams will be hosting Paris Thursday, Sept. 15 at Van’s Memorial Stadium with the freshmen contest starting at 5 p.m. followed by the J.V. contest at approximately 6:30 p.m.
All of the Vandal junior high football teams will be traveling to Paris Sept. 15 with the action starting at 4:30 p.m.
For results of Van’s non-district finale at Paris Sept. 16 and a preview of their District 8-4A, Division 2, opener at home against the Brownsboro Bears Sept. 23, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.