DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

It was a disappointing end to non-district play for the Van Vandals Sept. 16 at Paris as they suffered their second consecutive defeat, this time to the previously winless Paris Wildcats (1-3), 45-13.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals (2-2) will try to regroup as they will open District 8-4A, Division 2, play at home against the Brownsboro Bears Friday, Sept. 23.

Against Paris, penalties and turnovers haunted the Vandals throughout the contest as Van was penalized 14 times for 165 yards and turned the ball over five times on interceptions, two of which were returned for Paris touchdowns.

The Vandal offense finished with 17 first downs and 322 yards of total offense (180 yards rushing and 142 yards passing) while the Wildcats registered 14 first downs and 284 yards of total offense (229 yards rushing and 55 yards passing).

Van quarterback Jaxon Moffatt completed 13 out of 28 passes for 142 yards, no touchdowns, and suffered four interceptions.

Junior running back Demarcus Stinnett led the Vandal running attack with 81 yards rushing on 13 carries and one TD.

Senior Brayden Bradshaw caught three passes for 48 yards in addition to carrying the ball four times for 29 yards rushing.

Defensively, Van defensive back Garrett Florey had 11 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception, and one batted pass/pass breakup while DB Landon Smith had 10 tackles, three tackles for losses and one interception returned for a TD.

“That was a bad night in a lot of different ways,” said Jared Moffatt. “I know people were upset with the officiating and I was too, but officiating is part of the game. There are nights when you have calls go your way and there are nights when the calls go against you. You have to overcome that. The officials definitely impacted the game.”

The Vandals received the opening kickoff and moved from their own 16 to the Paris 25 in five plays including a 13-yard pass play from Jaxon Moffatt to receiver Caden Rowe but on third down and 10 at the Wildcat 25, the scoring threat ended when Jaxon Moffatt’s pass to receiver Luke Horton was intercepted by Paris DB Jerimiah Banda and returned to the Vandal 31.

Paris took full advantage of the turnover as they moved 31 yards in six plays with Wildcat RB Taydrick Dawson (17 carries, 90 yards) ending the march with a 21-yard TD run. Paul Torres added the extra point to give Paris a 7-0 lead with 7:09 remaining in the first quarter. A defensive holding penalty against the Vandals on fourth down and eight at the Van 29 kept the opening scoring drive alive for the Wildcats.

Following an exchange of punts, the Wildcats had a third down and seven at their own 24 when reserve QB Eli Ward’s pass was intercepted by Smith of the Vandals and returned 30 yards for a TD. Fernando Jimenez added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:18 to play in the second quarter.

Paris received the ensuing kickoff and moved from its own 35 to the Vandal 8-yard line in eight plays including a 22-yard pass completion from Ward to RB Trevin Hohenberger, a 31-yard run by Dawson, and a 15-yard run by Hohenberger.

Facing fourth down and goal at the Vandal 8-yard line, Torres was sent in to attempt a 25-yard field goal which was good giving the Wildcats a 10-7 advantage with 7:29 remaining in the second quarter.

Van responded by moving from its own 35 to the Paris 6-yard line in eight plays including a 17-yard run by Florey and two personal foul penalties against the Wildcats.

On fourth down and goal at the Wildcat 6-yard line, the momentum of the game shifted as the Vandals attempted a double reverse ending with Horton throwing the ball to Jaxon Moffatt in the end zone, but the toss was intercepted by Paris DB Malik Johnson and returned 95 yards for a Wildcat TD. Torres added the extra point giving Paris a sudden 17-7 lead with 3:21 to play in the second quarter.

“If we score there, we are up 14-10,” pointed out the Vandal head coach. “It was a huge play in the game. Even with that play, we were only down 17-7 and still had a chance to come back. I just told the players at halftime to relax. Even after everything that happened in the first half, we were still in the game at that point. As it turned out, they come out and score in the third quarter and then we throw a pick-6. At that point, it became pretty difficult, not impossible, to come back and win. That was disappointing. We need to turn the page and move on.

“We worked on that play all week and we thought we had a great chance to score in that situation,” continued Jared Moffatt. “Their defender saw it develop and came off his man and made a great play on the ball. We thought we had a good play call there. It was a bad moment of many bad moments in that game.”

Following a Vandal punt, the Wildcats threatened to extend their lead as they moved as deep as the Van 13 when on first down and 10, Ward’s pass to wide receiver Dycurian Douglas was intercepted in the end zone by Florey giving the Vandals possession on a touchback.

Paris received the second half kickoff and began to put the game completely out of reach for the Vandals.

The Wildcats moved 59 yards in 11 plays as Hohenberger ended the long time-consuming march with a 2-yard TD run. Torres added the extra point extending the Wildcat lead to 24-7 with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter. Key plays in the Paris scoring march included pass completions from Ward to Douglas covering 11 and 17 yards, a 12-yard run by Dawson and two Vandal defensive penalties (pass interference and illegal procedure).

Van’s first offensive possession of the third quarter resulted in a turnover as Jaxon Moffatt’s long downfield pass to Bradshaw on first down at the Vandal 39 was intercepted by Wildcat DB Kadyn McDonald at the Paris 16.

Following a Wildcat punt, the Vandals had excellent field position at the Wildcat 37 but on first down and 10, Jaxon Moffatt’s pass over the middle was intercepted by linebacker Hohenberger and returned 70 yards for a Paris TD. Torres added the extra point extending the Wildcat advantage to 31-7 with 2:26 to play in the third quarter.

The Vandals responded with their only offensive TD drive of the game as they moved 84 yards in 15 plays with Stinnett ending the march with a 4-yard TD run cutting Van’s deficit to 31-13 with 9:02 to play in the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion pass from Jaxon Moffatt to Bradshaw was incomplete.

Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included a 12-yard run by Stinnett, and pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt covering 22 yards to receiver David Admire, 14 yards to receiver Easton Hinch, 35 and 10 yards to Bradshaw, and 10 yards to Stinnett.

After a failed onside kick attempt by the Vandals and a punt by the Wildcats, Van had possession at its own 16 but three plays later, Jaxon Moffatt’s pass was intercepted by Paris at the Wildcat 23.

Two plays later, Wildcat RB Aldren Gill (four carries, 121 yards) outraced the Vandal defense down the sideline 78 yards for a TD. Torres added the extra point extending the Paris lead to 38-13 with 5:29 remaining in the game.

Van moved from its own 25 to the Wildcat 47 in eight plays including a 13-yard pass play from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe but the drive stalled on fourth down and 12 at the Wildcat 47 when Jaxon Moffatt’s pass to Rowe was incomplete.

On the next play, Gill closed out the scoring for Paris with a 53-yard TD run. Torres added the extra point giving the Wildcats a 45-13 lead with two minutes remaining in the game.

Van moved from its own 26 to the Paris 47 in four plays including running gains of 10 and 13 yards by Stinnett, and 16 yards by Jaxon Moffatt when the clock ran out.

Jared Moffatt recognized the efforts of defensive tackle Braydon Hullum, offensive lineman Ace Bostick, defensive tackle Reggie Johnson, defensive back Reed Parish, center Kepler Multhaup, RB/DB Garrett Florey, RB Demarcus Stinnett, and receiver Brayden Bradshaw.

Defensive statistics from the Paris game were recently released by the Vandal coaching staff and the numbers were as follows:

Garrett Florey: 11 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception, and one batted pass/pass breakup; Landon Smith: 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and one interception returned for a TD; Brayden Hullum: eight tackles, three tackles for losses, and one QB sack; Christian Capuzano: eight tackles and three tackles for losses; Reggie Johnson: six tackles and two tackles for losses; Tuff Arozemena: five tackles; Easton Hinch: five tackles; Garrett Phillips, five tackles; Beau Barton: four tackles and three tackles for losses; Cannon Rainey: four tackles and one batted pass/pass breakup; Colten Miller: four tackles; Reed Parish: two tackles and two batted passes/pass brea