DAVID BARBER

Sports Correspondent

After coming from behind in the fourth quarter Aug. 25 to outlast the Pine Tree Pirates in their regular season opener at Van’s Memorial Stadium, the Van Vandals will hit the road for the next two games to take on some quality opponents.

The first road trip of the 2023 season for the Vandals will be Friday, Sept. 1 in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Chapel Hill Bulldogs, who have been Class 4A, Division 2, state semifinalists the last two seasons.

Chapel Hill raised some eyebrows with their season opening performance Aug. 25 as they ran all over the Gilmer Buckeyes, 71-53, in Gilmer.

Last season, the Vandals edged the Bulldogs in Van and Vandal Head Coach Jared Moffatt knows that Chapel Hill has not forgotten that meeting.

“Chapel Hill is really talented with some great playmakers on the offensive side of the ball,” pointed out Moffatt. “The quarterback and the running back are juniors. They have been starting on the varsity since they were freshmen. They are great players. Their second and third running backs are pretty good as well. They have good receivers. Not many people do what they did to Gilmer last Friday night. They just ran the ball at them and finished the game with over 600 yards rushing. We knew when we scheduled them that they were going to be talented.

“Defensively, they are very well coached,” emphasized the Vandal head coach. “Overall, they have around 10 players that are college prospects. They are athletic with great team speed. This will be a physical game. We cannot miss any tackles. They will be motivated to play against us. It will be a real challenge.”

Offensively, the Bulldogs are primarily a one-back team that emphasizes the run game. “I don’t think they threw the ball more than six times against Gilmer, but they didn’t have to throw it with the success of their running game, but their quarterback can throw the ball well. He has a talented arm. If they complete passes, we will be in for a tough night.”

Defensively, Chapel Hill is an ‘even-front’ team, according to Jared Moffatt. “Their defensive coordinator does a good job over there and they have a good scheme,” said the Vandal head coach. “People look at Gilmer scoring 53 points against them, but Gilmer does that to a lot of people. “Chapel Hill has a Division 1 defensive end. They have a linebacker who has had some offers. They have athleticism on the back end of their defense.”

Van’s freshmen and junior varsity teams will host Chapel Hill beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31. The junior high teams will begin play Sept. 7.

For results of the Chapel Hill game and a preview of the Vandals road game against rival Lindale Sept. 8, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.