DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

In their first four non-district games, each of the opponents that the Van Vandals played were ranked higher than they were in the pre-season rankings as the Vandals won three of those matchups.

Now, the Vandals face a different challenge as they will take their 3-1 overall record to Brownsboro Friday, Sept. 27 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the winless Brownsboro Bears (0-4) who have been defeated soundly in all four of their games so far in 2024.

Vandal Head Coach Jared Moffatt, in his 15th season at Van, has never lost to Brownsboro.

His first victory as the head coach of the Vandals came during the 2010 season in an overtime victory at Brownsboro against the Bears.

“I am real proud of our team for being 3-1 after the four opponents that we have faced so far,” pointed out Moffatt. “Two of those three wins were by one score. Brownsboro has had a tough season, and they have not played great up to this point. There have been a number of times that we have traveled to Brownsboro and not played well there.

“The challenge to our players this week is that this game is about us, our mentality, getting better as a team,” emphasized Moffatt. “We have been pretty good, but we haven’t been great. There is a difference between being good and being great. We have to show attention to detail. We need to play consistently great, not just consistently good. That is our challenge this week against Brownsboro. It is our last non-district game, and we need to be feeling good heading into our bye week and the start of district play after that. Our full focus and attention is playing against Brownsboro on the road Friday night.

The Bears have lost to Quinlan Ford, Jacksonville, Fairfield, and Caddo Mills during their non-district play.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine has predicted that Brownsboro will finish in last place in the newly formed District 8-4A, Division 2, which includes Carthage, Center, Athens, Rusk, and Bullard.

“Brownsboro has been multiple on offense,” pointed out Moffatt. “They are consistently a shotgun team. They always have some dynamic kids. Their quarterback has a ton of college offers. They have a safety, a running back, and a receiver that have speed. Brownsboro always has speed. Defensively, they will show an ‘odd front.’ They will stack the box and defend the run game well. There are opportunities there for us to make plays and we need to go out and make those plays happen.”

The Vandal freshmen and junior varsity teams will host Brownsboro Thursday, Sept. 26 beginning with the freshmen game starting at 5 p.m. followed by the J.V. contest at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

Van’s junior high teams will travel to Brownsboro with action beginning at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26.

Following their trip to Brownsboro Sept. 27, the Vandals will enjoy a bye week before returning to action Friday, Oct. 11 when they will host the Spring Hill Panthers in the District 7-4A, Division 2, opener at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

For results of the varsity game at Brownsboro Sept. 27 and a look ahead to Van’s plans during their bye week period, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.