DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

Trailing by seven points on three different occasions in the second half Nov. 3, the Van Vandals rallied with two touchdown drives in the final six minutes of the game to outlast the Bullard Panthers on the road, 35-28, and earn the third playoff seed in District 8-4A, Division 2.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 6-4 overall and a 4-2 mark in district play, enter the Class 4A, Division 2, state playoffs for the 12th time in the 13 years that Moffatt has been the head coach at Van.

The Vandals also received unexpected help from their district and Van Zandt County rival Nov. 3 as the Canton Eagles upset the Rusk Eagles in Canton, 35-34, which moved the Vandals from the fourth playoff seed to third and dropping Rusk from third to fourth. Bullard ended its season with a 3-7 overall mark and a 2-4 record in district action.

Instead of playing the number two team in the state in Class 4A, Division 2, the Gilmer Buckeyes, in the bi-district round of the state playoffs, the Vandals will now face the Texarkana Pleasant Grove Hawks, the number seven team in the state, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at Maverick Stadium in Marshall. Rusk is now playing Gilmer.

Against Bullard, the Vandals finished with a balanced offensive attack as they had 24 first downs and 412 yards of total offense including 270 rushing and 142 passing while the Panthers registered 20 first downs and 326 yards of total offense including 25 yards rushing and 301 yards passing.

Vandal running back Garrett Florey was kept busy throughout the game as he finished with 25 carries for 133 yards rushing and four touchdowns including the game-winning 3-yard TD run with 44 seconds remaining that broke a 28-28 tie.

Quarterback Jaxon Moffatt completed nine out of 13 passes for 142 yards, one TD, and one interception.

Senior receiver Brayden Bradshaw caught five passes for 59 yards and one TD in addition to carrying the ball five times for 31 yards rushing. Easton Hinch caught three passes for 54 yards.

“I was very proud of our players and our coaching staff as they overcame some adversity in a big game that we had to win,” said Jared Moffatt. “We had a field goal blocked in our first possession after a really good drive. We had a personal foul penalty on an extra point which led to Bullard recovering an onside kick. We had three turnovers on our end of the field giving them great field position. They had a 99-yard TD drive following an inadvertent whistle on a pass that we intercepted. We had a couple of pass interference calls on defense. There were a number of plays that did not go our way. Despite all of that, our kids just continued to play and were not distracted. We continued to battle. We made the plays that we needed at the end to ultimately win the game.”

Following a Bullard punt, the Vandals’ first offensive possession saw Van move from its own 28 to the Panther 4-yard line in 11 plays including an 11-yard run by Florey, and pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt covering 32 yards to Bradshaw and 16 yards to Hinch.

Facing fourth down and three at the Bullard 4-yard line, the Vandals sent in kicker Tristan Miller to attempt a 21-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked and recovered by the Panthers at the Bullard 21 ending Van’s scoring threat.

After another Panther punt, the Vandals opened the scoring as they moved 62 yards in nine plays as Florey ended the march with a 5-yard TD run. Miller added the extra point giving Van a 7-0 advantage with 11:12 to play in the second quarter. Key plays in the first Vandal scoring drive included a 14-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Bradshaw and running gains of 12 and 11 yards by Beau Barton (eight carries, 78 yards).

Bullard responded with a TD march of its own to tie the game as the Panthers moved 78 yards in 10 plays as QB Ayden Barrett ended the drive with a 1-yard TD run on fourth down and goal. C. J. Baker added the extra point to deadlock the contest at 7-7 with 7:11 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in the Panther scoring drive included pass completions from Barrett covering 20 yards to Crew Bowman and 38 yards to wide receiver Clifford Douglass in addition to a face mask penalty against the Vandals.

Following the enforcement of a personal foul penalty against the Vandals on Bullard’s extra point attempt, the Panthers then surprised the Vandals by recovering the ensuing onside kick giving Bullard excellent field position at the Van 24.

Van’s defense rose to the occasion and stopped Bullard on fourth and 20 at the Vandal 34 as Barrett scrambled for an 11-yard gain, well short of the first down marker giving Van possession at the Vandal 23.

Three plays later, Moffatt’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Bullard free safety Logan Smith and returned to the Vandal 27 again giving the Panthers excellent field position but the Vandal defense again responded and forced a 27-yard FG try by Baker which was wide left keeping the score tied at 7-7 as intermission approached.

The Vandals received the third quarter kickoff and suffered a turnover on their first play from scrimmage in the second half as Bradshaw fumbled with Bullard recovering the ball at the Van 37.

Ten plays later, Barrett gave the Panthers the lead on a 1-yard TD plunge. Baker added the extra point to give Bullard a 14-7 lead with 9:03 to play in the third quarter. Key plays in the Panther scoring drive included pass completions from Barrett covering 13 yards to Douglas, 10 yards to receiver Noah Hill, and 10 yards to receiver Hendrix Smith.

Van rallied to tie the game once again on its next offensive series as they moved 60 yards in eight plays. Jaxon Moffatt connected with Bradshaw on a 20-yard TD pass play to end the march. Miller added the extra point to deadlock the game at 14-14 with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter. Running gains of 11 yards by Florey and 13 yards by Colton Miller were key plays in the scoring drive for the Vandals.

Bullard moved from its own 34 to the Vandal 21 in 11 plays including two pass completions from Barrett to Douglas, each covering 11 yards.

On fourth down and seven at the Van 21, the Vandal defense stopped the Panthers’ scoring threat as the pass from Barrett to Hill was incomplete giving Van possession.

Two plays later, Jaxon Moffatt fumbled with Bullard recovering the ball at the Van 21 to set up Bullard’s next TD drive.

The short drive ended three plays later on a 15-yard TD pass play from Barrett (21 completions, 38 attempts, 263 yards, two TD’s, no interceptions) to Hill. Baker added the extra point giving Bullard a 21-14 lead with 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Following a 44-yard return of the ensuing kickoff by Bradshaw, the Vandals moved 31 yards in five plays as Florey ended the march with a 7-yard TD run. Miller added the extra point to tie the game once again, this time at 21-21 with 10:17 to play in the fourth quarter. A 10-yard run by Florey and a 24-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hinch were key plays in the Van’s scoring drive.

With Bullard backed up deep in its own end of the field at the 6-yard line, a bizarre situation occurred as Barrett’s long downfield pass appeared to be intercepted by Van defensive back Reed Parish around midfield but after a long conference by the officials, it was ruled as a ‘no play’ as an inadvertent whistle was blown by a member of the officiating crew.

The Panthers went on to move down the field on a 99-yard scoring drive in eight plays as Barrett ended the long march by connecting with receiver Jachin Salas on a 36-yard TD pass play. Baker added the extra point to give Bullard a stunning 28-21 lead with 8:27 remaining in the game. Key plays in the go-ahead scoring drive for the Panthers included pass completions from Barrett covering 36 and 17 yards to Douglas and two defensive pass interference penalties against the Vandals.

Again, the Vandals responded quickly to re-tie the contest as they moved 65 yards in seven plays with Florey ending the march with a 6-yard TD run. Miller added the extra point to deadlock the game at 28-28 with 5:42 to play in the game. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included a 20-yard run by Bradshaw, a 29-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to receiver Austin Johnson, and a 17-yard run by Barton.

Bullard moved from its own 23 to the Vandal 46 in seven plays that included penalties by both teams as the Vandals were flagged for defensive pass interference and a personal foul while the Panthers were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct setting up a Bullard punt at the Vandal 46.

The Panther punt traveled only 13 yards giving Van good field position at the Vandal 33 to begin what turned out to be the game-winning offensive scoring drive with exactly three minutes remaining.

Van moved 67 yards in nine plays ending with a 3-yard TD run by Florey and an extra point by Miller giving the Vandals a 35-28 lead with 44 seconds to play. Key plays in the game-winning scoring drive for the Vandals included a 14-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hinch, and running gains of 15 yards by Barton and 18 yards by Florey.

With no timeouts remaining, Bullard’s final offensive drive lasted five plays as the Panthers only advanced to their own 39 before the clock ran out.

Jared Moffatt recognized the individual efforts of RB/defensive back/punter/punt returner Garrett Florey, linebacker and RB Beau Barton, defensive back Reed Parish, receiver/RB/kickoff returner Brayden Bradshaw, QB Jaxon Moffatt, and receivers Easton Hinch and Austin Johnson.

The Vandal head coach also spoke highly of the performance of the offensive line, which featured the return of junior right tackle Jose Suarez, who suffered a broken leg against Chapel Hill Sept. 2.