DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

Two state ranked playoff-bound teams met Oct. 27 in Carthage to decide the District 8-4A, Division 2, championship and when the dust settled, the #1 ranked team and defending Class 4A, Division 2, state champions, the Carthage Bulldogs, completed another undefeated regular season by outlasting the upset-minded Van Vandals, 35-7.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 7-2 overall and 4-1 in district play, will close out their 2023 regular season campaign at home against the Bullard Panthers (5-4, 1-4) in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Nov. 3 at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

The Vandals will finish as the runner-up team in District 8-4A, Division 2, regardless of the outcome of their regular season finale against Bullard as Van will enter the Class 4A, Division 2, state playoffs next week.

Carthage (10-0, 6-0) finishes its regular season schedule as they will have an open date Nov. 3 to prepare for post-season play the following week.

Against the Bulldogs, the Vandals finished with 14 first downs and 208 yards of total offense including 101 yards rushing and 107 yards passing.

Quarterback Jaxon Moffatt completed nine out of 15 passes for 107 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Running back Austin Moffatt carried the ball 13 times for 56 yards rushing in addition to catching three passes for 30 yards. Caden Rowe caught four passes for 44 yards against Carthage.

Carthage finished the game with 20 first downs and 358 yards of total offense including 131 yards rushing and 227 yards passing.

Bulldog QB Jett Surratt completed 19 out of 30 passes for 227 yards, two TD’s, and no interceptions.

RB K.J. Edwards carried the ball 11 times for 75 yards and three TD’s. Wide receiver Braden Manning caught 10 passes for 119 yards and one TD.

“I was real proud of our team’s effort against Carthage,” said Jared Moffatt. “There were really a lot of good things that came out of that game. Their defensive front was definitely the strength of their team. I thought going into the game that we could block them a little bit better than we did. We needed to run the ball better than we did. Despite that, our first offensive drive was 12 plays and we got stopped on third and fourth down.

“In the first half, the game went pretty much like we wanted it to go,” continued Jared Moffatt. “It was a fast first half. We had two possessions and they had three possessions. They scored right before halftime but even trailing 14-7, it was still there for us but in the third quarter, we had a holding penalty on the first drive. On the second drive, we got stopped on fourth down, and on the third drive, we had a pass that was tipped and intercepted. Looking back, we struggled picking up tough yards and to have a chance to beat Carthage, you have to make those plays. We played really hard. We just did not make enough plays to stay in the game with them.”

The Vandal head coach said that the Bulldogs did not show him anything that his team was not expecting going into the contest.

“Their head coach and their defensive coordinator have both been at Carthage for 16 years, so they don’t do a whole lot of changing,” pointed out Jared Moffatt. “They have won a bunch of games for a reason. Their players are very well coached. They had five touchdowns on their first six offensive drives. We did not win on third and fourth down. Field position was not in our favor. Carthage is 107-2 in their last 109 games. They are the most talented football team that we have played this season, by far. I have a ton of respect for Carthage and their program.”

Carthage got on the scoreboard first as they received the opening kickoff and moved 67 yards in eight plays.

Edwards finished the initial scoring march for the Bulldogs with a 12-yard TD run. Leo Medrano added the extra point giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 8:38 remaining in the first quarter. A 23-yard run by Edwards was a key play in the opening scoring march for Carthage.

The Vandals took the ensuing kickoff and drove from their own 18 to the Bulldog 39 in nine plays including an 18-yard run by Austin Moffatt.

The scoring threat for Van ended on fourth down and two at the Carthage 39 when reserve QB Cannon Rainey, operating out of the Vandals’ ‘Rhino’ short yardage formation, was tackled for no gain giving the Bulldogs possession.

Carthage drove from its own 39 to the Vandal 22 in 13 plays including pass completions from Surratt to Manning covering 23 and 10 yards and a 23-yard reverse run by Manning but on fourth down and 20 at the Vandal 22, Medrano’s 39 yards field goal attempt was wide right keeping the Vandal deficit at 7-0.

The Vandals responded with what turned out to be their only scoring drive of the contest as they moved 78 yards in 13 plays as RB Colton Miller ended the long time-consuming march with a 2-yard TD run. Josh Christian added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in Van’s scoring march included a 20-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe and a 23-yard run by Austin Moffatt.

Carthage broke the scoring deadlock just before halftime as they advanced from its own 45 to the Vandal 12 in 13 plays with the Surratt to Manning connection working again resulting in a 12-yard TD pass play on third down and 10. Medrano added the extra point giving the Bulldogs a 14-7 advantage with 6.7 seconds remaining before intermission. A 17-yard pass completion from Surratt to Manning was a key play in the go-ahead scoring drive for the Bulldogs.

Van received the second half kickoff and made one first down before being forced to punt which resulted in a bad 18-yard effort giving Carthage excellent field position at the Vandal 40.

Four plays later, Edwards ended the 60-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run. Medrano added the extra point extending the Bulldog advantage to 21-7 with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter. An 18-yard run by K.D. Matlock was a key play in the scoring march for Carthage.

The Vandals moved from their own 25 to the Bulldog 46 in five plays including a 20-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt but on fourth down and one, Jaxon Moffatt was tackled for a two-yard loss giving the Bulldogs excellent field position again at the Bulldog 48.

Three plays later, Edwards ended the drive with a 4-yard TD run. Medrano added the extra point giving Carthage a 28-7 lead with 1:42 to play in the third quarter. A 29-yard pass completion from Surratt to WR Cade Preston and an illegal use of hands penalty against the Vandals were key plays in the Bulldog scoring march.

Van then advanced from its own 25 to the Carthage 22 in eight plays including pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt covering 13 yards to Austin Moffatt and 24 yards to H-back Colten Grier but on fourth down and four, the scoring threat for the Vandals came to a close when Jaxon Moffatt’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Nate Marry of the Bulldogs at the Carthage 18.

Five plays later, Carthage ended the scoring as Surratt connected with WR Mikel Fields on a 1-yard TD pass play to end an 82-yard scoring drive. Medrano added the extra point to give the Bulldogs a commanding 35-7 advantage with 6:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. Key plays in the final Carthage scoring march included pass completions from Surratt covering 51 yards to Fields and 22 yards to Manning.

Following a Vandal punt, the Bulldogs moved from their own 44 to the Vandal 37 on five straight running plays but on fourth down and six, the Vandal defense stiffened and stopped Carthage RB Benny Smith after a one-yard gain giving the ball back to Van allowing the Vandals to run three offensive plays before the clock ran out.

Jared Moffatt recognized the efforts of Rowe, Jaxon Moffatt, center Justus Anderson, cornerback Gabriel Bachert for their performances against Carthage.