DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

A terrible start was almost overcome by the Van Vandals Oct. 23, but in the end, the Pittsburg Pirates kicked a 25-yard field goal with two seconds left to upset the Vandals, 24-21, in Pittsburg.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals are currently 5-3 overall and 2-1 in District 7-4A, Division 2, play, as they will try to get back in the win column Oct. 31 when they visit the winless Paris North Lamar Panthers in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Against Pittsburg, the Vandals fell behind 21-0 in the first half before storming back to tie the game at 21-21 in the fourth quarter.

Van finished with 19 first downs and 312 yards of total offense including 139 yards rushing and 173 yards passing.

Vandal quarterback Rawly Hinch completed 10 out of 20 passes for 173 yards, two TD’s, and one interception. Hinch also carried the ball 13 times for 43 yards and one TD.

Running back Da’Quavion Williams finished with 96 yards rushing on 19 carries. 

Aiden Willis led the Vandal receivers with four receptions for 84 yards and a TD. Connor Ammons caught three passes for 58 yards and Cash Walker had a 14-yard TD pass reception.

Defensively, strong safety Parker Rainey led the Vandals in total tackles with 16 followed by linebacker Carter Admire with 13, linebacker Braydon Karwowski with 11, and linebacker Boston Blalock with 10. 

Admire had two tackles for losses and Karwowski had one tackle for a loss. Blalock had a QB sack.

Free safety Ian Hopson had eight total tackles and a pass interception. Waylon King had six total tackles and a fumble recovery. 

Despite the loss to Pittsburg, the Vandals were still in control of their playoff positioning as they will host the highly regarded state-ranked and current district leading Texarkana Pleasant Grove Hawks in a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday, Nov. 7, at Van’s Memorial Stadium to close out their district and regular season schedule.

Van’s poor night got off to a bad start as Williams fumbled the ball on the second play from scrimmage at the Vandal 34 with Pittsburg’s Toribio Willis recovering the ball at the line of scrimmage.

Six plays later, the Pirates threatened to get on the scoreboard, but RB Lane Hall fumbled with Karwowski recovering the ball at the Vandal 20 giving the ball back to Van.

Despite pass completions from Hinch covering 11 and 12 yards to Ammons, the Vandals were later forced to punt at their own 49.

The Pirates moved 67 yards in 10 plays to get on the scoreboard first as QB Kord Johnson ended the march with a 1-yard TD run. Alan Ramirez added the extra point giving Pittsburg a 7-0 lead with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter. Key plays in Pittsburg’s first scoring drive included running gains of 15 yards by Johnson and 14 yards by Hall in addition to a face mask penalty against the Vandals.

A 12-yard run by Williams started Van’s next offensive possession but the drive stalled at the Van 40 leading to another punt.

Pittsburg then went on another long-time consuming march as they advanced 73 yards in 14 plays (13 running) to stretch their lead as Hall ended the drive with a 1-yard TD run. Ramirez added the extra point, giving the Pirates a 14-0 lead with 4:33 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in the scoring drive for Pittsburg included running gains of 11 and 10 yards by Itzael Falcon and 12 and 11 yards by Johnson.

Van appeared to be on its way to getting their first scoring drive of the contest on its next possession as they moved from their own 30 to the Pirate 49 in five plays including a 10-yard run by Williams but on first down on the first play after the two-minute timeout, Hinch’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Pirate outside linebacker Jaime Villegas and returned to the Vandal 26.

Three plays later, Johnson connected with WR Camdyn Doddy on a 21-yard TD pass play on third down and five. Ramirez added the extra point giving Pittsburg a stunning 21-0 lead with 1:01 to play before halftime.

The Vandals responded with their first scoring drive of the game as they moved 79 yards in six plays with Hinch ending the march with a 1-yard TD run. Alex Aceves added the extra point, cutting Van’s deficit to 21-7 with six seconds to play before intermission. Key plays in Van’s first scoring march included running gains of 10 yards by Hinch, two 12-yard runs by Williams and a 35-yard pass completion from Hinch to Ammons.

Despite being down 21-7 at halftime, Moffatt said the feeling in the locker room was that the game was there to win despite a bad first half performance.

“The feeling in the locker room was this is where we are, and we are going to have to fight our tails off to come back and win the game,” emphasized Moffatt. “We were going to have to compete, fight, and claw our way back into the game. That was our mentality. There were not a whole lot of adjustments at halftime. We just knew that we had to play better.”  

Pittsburg received the third quarter kickoff and advanced to its own 46 where they lined up in punt formation on fourth down and five when Johnson attempted a run on a fake punt but was tackled one yard short of the first down marker giving the Vandals excellent field position at the Pirate 49.

Van took full advantage of the opportunity as they moved 49 yards in eight plays with Hinch connecting with receiver Cash Walker on a 14-yard TD pass play on fourth down and nine to end the scoring drive. Aceves added the extra point, cutting Van’s deficit to 21-14 with 7:45 to play in the third quarter. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included running gains of 13 yards by Hinch and 10 yards by Williams.

After a long kickoff return by Doddy, the Pirates threatened to extend their lead as they had the ball at the Vandal 19 on third down and eight when Johnson fumbled. King recovered the ball for the Vandals at the line of scrimmage as the momentum continued to turn in Van’s favor.

After gaining a couple of first downs, the Vandals were later forced to punt giving the Pirates possession at the Pittsburg 32.

Five plays later, including a 49-yard pass completion from Johnson to WR Seven Duffey, the Pirates had a third down and 11 at the Vandal 15 when Johnson’s pass to the end zone was intercepted by Hopson for a touchback giving the ball back to the Vandals at the start of the fourth quarter.

An exchange of punts followed before the Vandals put together an 80-yard scoring drive in five plays as Hinch connecting with Willis on a 56-yard TD pass play to end the drive. Aceves added the extra point tie the contest at 21-21 with 7:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. A 13-yard run by Williams was a key play in the Vandal scoring drive.

Van’s momentum continued on the ensuing kickoff as the Pirates muffed the return with Van’s Marcus Fabian recovering the loose ball at the Pittsburg 30.

Two plays later, the Vandals appeared to have taken the lead on an apparent 29-yard TD run by Hinch, but the play was called back due to offensive holding.

Three plays later, facing fourth down and five at the Pittsburg 25, the Vandals decided to go for the first down, but Hinch was stopped inches short of the first down marker on a running play giving the ball back to Pittsburg with 4:53 remaining.

Pittsburg kept the ball until the game winning FG as they moved from their own 21 to the Vandal 8-yard line in 12 plays that included a face mask penalty against the Vandals and a 19-yard run by Falcon.

On third down and six at the Vandal 8-yard line, Ramirez was sent in as he successfully kicked a 25-yard FG with two seconds left on the clock to break the tie and give the Pirates the victory.

Moffatt recognized the individual performances of defensive tackle Ty’ler Williams, defensive end Brigg Barton, and linebacker Carter Admire.

“Defensively, we played really well after halftime, and they gave us a chance to win the game,” pointed out Moffatt. “Our defensive play was the highlight of the night. Offensively, it was a rough night. We did some things well. We had a number of 10-yard runs, but we also had too many zero to two yard runs. It was not our best night. Give Pittsburg’s defense credit.”

On the injury front, Moffatt said that the Vandals are in pretty good shape after eight football games this season.

“It was a terrible night at Pittsburg,” summarized Moffatt. “I have been coaching a long time, and I have been in games where things are not going the way you need them to go. From the start, we did not play well. We finally made some plays at the end of the first half to cut the deficit to 21-7 at halftime. It was a terrible first half overall. Nobody played well. I thought we were fortunate to only be down by 14 at halftime the way we played. 

“In the second half, the defense played well,” continued Moffatt. “We scored to cut the deficit to a one-score game. We made a big play to tie the game in the fourth quarter. We recovered their muffed kickoff return. Rawly Hinch made a great run for an apparent touchdown to give us the lead, but we were called for holding, and yes, it was holding for sure. I think if we had scored a touchdown on that drive, the way our defense was playing in the second half, I think we could have won the game. We ended up not scoring on that drive and we gave the ball back to Pittsburg. They drove down the field and made the field goal to win the game.”

“When we were down 21-0, our kids just kept on playing and they battled back,” said Moffatt. “There was no panic. We knew things were not going well, especially early in the game, but we kept battling. We gave ourselves a chance to win a game in which we did not play very well. It was unfortunate that we could not pull the game out in the end. We created four turnovers, and we had two turnovers ourselves. Offensively, we were 0-7 on third down. I can’t ever remember a game when we failed to convert on third down. We had our chances. We were not able to overcome our mistakes. This was a tough loss.”

Moffatt was not ready to agree that the emotional victory at home over Gilmer the previous week contributed to the Vandals sub-par performance at Pittsburg.

“I cannot rule that out,” emphasized Moffatt. “All I know is, we were not ready to play like we needed to play against Pittsburg. We were not ready to go in a manner that needs to be when the ball is kicked off. I do not forget the games we lose. I told our team to let that performance be a reminder. We have to play a certain way, and we have to be ready to go. 

“We cannot afford to not be emotionally and mentally ready to start a football game,” said Moffatt. “What has always made us good in Van is our mentality, how hard we play, how we approach the game, and how our coaches prepare our players to play the game. When we spot a team 21 points in the first half and don’t start playing well until the second half, it’s tough. I was proud of our guys for the way they came back to tie the game after being down 21-0. Whatever the reason was for our overall poor performance at Pittsburg, we cannot afford to do that. When we play like we did at Pittsburg, we are susceptible to being defeated. What happened at Pittsburg was real unfortunate.”

The Vandal head coach said that Pittsburg did not throw any surprise looks offensively or defensively early in the game.

“They did not throw the ball down the field as much as I thought they would,” recalled Moffatt. “They did hit one deep throw on us but overall, they did not take as many deep shots down the field as what we were anticipating. They were committed to running the ball at us and shortening the game. We had nine offensive possessions in the game with seven of those ending up with no points. We had five punts and two turnovers. I don’t think we punted five times in the past five games total. It was a poor night. I don’t want to take anything away from Pittsburg’s performance. They have done a great job there. Pittsburg was 2-8 last season, and they are now 6-2. They beat us. We did not play our best and that is unfortunate.”