DAVID BARBER

Sports Correspondent

A combination of defense, special teams, and the ‘Rhino’ formation allowed the Van Vandals to come back in the fourth quarter Oct. 7 for a critical 28-19 district win over the Rusk Eagles at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals are now 5-2 overall and 3-0 in District 8-4A, Division 2, play as they will travel to Center Friday, Oct. 14, for another important district matchup against the Center Roughriders (4-2, 1-1). Center had an open date on Oct. 7. Rusk is now 4-2 overall and 1-1 in district play.

The Vandals are now tied with the undefeated Carthage Bulldogs (7-0, 3-0), the number one ranked team in the state in Class 4A, Division 2, for first place in the district as those two teams will square off in Van on Friday, Oct. 28.

Against Rusk, the Vandals finished with 18 first downs and 319 yards of total offense (137 yards rushing and 182 yards passing) while the Eagles registered 16 first downs and 400 yards of total offense (177 yards rushing and 223 yards passing).

Vandal quarterback Jaxon Moffatt completed eight out of 15 passes for 182 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Senior running back Garrett Florey led the Vandal running attack with 23 carries for 98 yards and four rushing TD’s, with some of his work coming out of Van’s short yardage and goal-line ‘Rhino’ formation in which Florey takes the direct snap from center.

Van’s leading receiver, sophomore Caden Rowe, caught two passes for 112 yards before suffering a broken leg in the second quarter that ended his 2022 season. Brayden Bradshaw caught four passes for 52 yards.

“I was extremely proud of our kids for the way that they played against Rusk,” pointed out Jared Moffatt. “It was obviously a big game in our district in terms of making the playoffs and playoff seeding. Great players make great plays in great games. We had a number of players do that against Rusk at key moments. We did what we had to do to win the football game. It was not always pretty but we battled.”

Rusk received the opening kickoff and moved from their own 46 to the Vandal 3-yard line in 12 plays including a 32-yard pass completion on a fourth down fake punt from punter Alan Rojo to Bryce Grimes and a 13-yard run by QB Aiden McCown.

Facing fourth down and goal at the Vandal 3-yard line, Rojo drilled a 20-yard field goal attempt giving the visiting Eagles a 3-0 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter.

The Vandals took the lead on their first offensive possession as they advanced 66 yards in five plays with Florey ending the drive out of the ‘Rhino’ formation with a 3-yard TD run. Sophomore Tristan Miller added the extra point giving Van a 7-3 advantage with 3:57 to play in the first quarter. A 55-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe was a key play in the Vandals’ first scoring drive.

After an exchange of punts, Rusk regained the lead as the Eagles moved 75 yards in six plays with McCown (nine completions, 30 attempts, 191 yards, one TD, one interception) ending the march by connecting with WR Brailen Trawick on a 9-yard TD pass play to start the second quarter of play. Rojo added the extra point giving the Eagles a 10-7 advantage with 11:53 remaining in the second quarter. A 51-yard pass completion from McCown to WR Elijah Wood was a key play in the go-ahead scoring drive for Rusk.

Van took the lead back on its next offensive series moving 73 yards in six plays with Florey finishing the march out of the ‘Rhino’ formation on a 1-yard TD run. Miller added the extra point giving the Vandals a 14-10 lead with 9:06 to play in the second quarter. A 57-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe, the play in which Rowe was injured, was a key play in the go-ahead scoring drive for the Vandals.

Rusk responded by moving from its own 32 to the Vandal 4-yard line in 10 plays including pass completions from McCown covering 44 yards to Trawick and 12 yards to Wood.

On fourth down and goal at the Van 4-yard line, Rojo was sent in to attempt another FG try and his 21-yard effort was good cutting the Vandal lead to 14-13 with 6:45 remaining before halftime.

Van appeared to be on its way to stretching its lead as they moved from its own 35 to the Rusk 14 in six plays including a 28-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Bradshaw and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Eagles.

The scoring threat ended on fourth down and five at the Rusk 14 when Jaxon Moffatt’s pass to Bradshaw in the end zone was incomplete giving the Eagles possession.

Following a Vandal punt in the third quarter, Rusk took the lead as RB Spencer Barnett (10 carries, 88 yards) ended a 93-yard drive in three plays by outracing the Vandal defense 73 yards down the sideline for a TD giving the Eagles a 19-14 lead with 6:01 to play in the third quarter. The two-point conversion pass from McCown to Rojo was incomplete. McCown had a 12-yard run prior to the long TD run by Barnett.

The Vandals then drove from their own 40 to the Eagle 8-yard line in 10 plays including pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt covering 17 yards to Bradshaw and 14 yards to receiver Easton Hinch, but on fourth down and three at the Rusk 8-yard line, the scoring threat ended as Jaxon Moffatt’s pass to Bradshaw was incomplete giving Rusk possession.

One of the key plays in the game took place five plays later as the Eagles lined up in punt formation early in the fourth quarter on fourth down and nine at the Rusk 9-yard line when Beau Barton of the Vandals blocked the punt by Rusk. The ball went out of bounds at the Rusk 14 giving Van possession along with momentum in their favor.

Operating again out of the ‘Rhino’ formation, Florey ran 10 yards before carrying the ball four yards for a TD. Miller added the extra point giving Van the lead at 21-19 with 11:16 to play in the fourth quarter.

“That blocked punt was a huge play in the game,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “Beau Barton made an unbelievable play. That play gave us a short field.”

Jared Moffatt said that going for a two-point conversion after scoring the go-ahead TD did enter his mind instead of kicking the extra point.

“We talked about it,” said Jared Moffatt. “If we had gone for two and made it, that would have given us a three-point lead at that point. I ended up deciding to kick the extra point. If Rusk had gone down to kick a field goal to take the lead, I might wish I had gone for two in that situation. I have never really gotten all involved in charts and analytics. The decision to go for the extra point in that situation was more of a gut feel than anything else. I don’t like to chase points unless it is absolutely necessary. As things turned out, it worked well for us.”

Following a personal foul penalty against the Vandals on the ensuing kickoff, Rusk had excellent field position at its own 43.

Five plays later, including running gains of 10 yards by Mason Trowbridge and 17 yards by McCown (17 carries, 98 yards), the Eagles had a fourth down and five at the Vandal 25 when McCown attempted to run for a first down, but was tackled at the first down marker and fumbled with the Vandals recovering the ball at the Van 20.

After a Vandal punt, the Eagles had possession at their own 41 but four plays later, Rusk suffered another disaster in their punting game on fourth down and 14 at the Eagle 37 when Rojo, the punter, fielded a low snap from center and fumbled the ball before being tackled for a 19-yard loss giving the Vandals very good field position at the Eagle 18.

“We capitalized on great field position in the fourth quarter following those two punt plays,” pointed out Jared Moffatt. “We were able to score two touchdowns and make two huge extra points. We were able to make it a two-score game at that point. Our team finished the game well.”

Six running plays later, all by Florey in the ‘Rhino’ formation, the Vandal senior RB powered into the end zone on a 1-yard TD run on fourth down and goal. Miller added the extra point extending Van’s lead to 28-19 with 3:07 remaining.

Down to one timeout remaining, the Eagles’ final offensive series saw Rusk move from its own 34 to the Vandal 21 in 10 plays including a 14-yard run by McCown but on second down and six at the Van 21, McCown’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Van defensive back Landon Smith at the Vandal 11 allowing Van to run out the clock.

Against Rusk, Jared Moffatt recognized the individual efforts of several Vandal players including RB/DB/punter/punt returner Garrett Florey, offensive lineman Ace Bostick, defensive lineman Colton Miller, linebacker/RB Beau Barton, defensive tackle Braydon Hullum, offensive tackle Cooper Hullum, H-back Colton Grier, DB Landon Smith, defensive back Reed Parish, receiver Luke Horton, QB Jaxon Moffatt, and kicker Tristan Miller.

“Our offensive line, as a group, played extremely well against Rusk,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “Our defensive secondary did a good job in the game. Our defensive staff and players did a great job against Rusk, especially in the red zone, holding them to two field goals at one point. It was a great, gutsy win for our team.”