Another chapter of the football rivalry involving two Van Zandt County teams will unfold Friday, Sept. 29 when the Van Vandals host the Canton Eagles in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

The Vandals are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in District 8-4A, Division 2, play after disposing of the previously undefeated Brownsboro Bears (4-1, 0-1) 28-7 Sept. 22 in Brownsboro.

Canton (2-3, 0-1) lost its Homecoming game Sept. 22 to the state-ranked Center Roughriders (4-1, 1-0), 57-34. The Eagles ran an impressive 93 offensive plays against Center.

“When you talk about Canton, you first have to talk about their offense,” pointed out Vandal Head Coach Jared Moffatt. “Their quarterback can really throw the football and he can throw it downfield as well. Their ability to throw and catch is as good as anyone we have played this season. Their running backs have run hard. Canton has been scoring a lot of points.

“Defensively, they are very well coached,” continued Moffatt. “They do exactly what they are told to do. They know what their job is, and they play hard on every snap. They will show an ‘even-front’ defensively, but they are capable of moving into an ‘odd-front’ as well. We have to play well to beat Canton Friday night. Our kids are excited to play them, and I know their kids are excited to play us.”

Moffatt is concerned about Canton’s ability offensively to run a number of plays in a short period of time.

“Brownsboro ran 49 offensive plays against us last Friday night and now we are facing a team that almost ran twice that many plays against Center,” emphasized Moffatt. “That is a concern. Fatigue becomes a factor. If Canton runs that many plays against us, we better score a lot of points. If we are playing 90 snaps on defense, that will not be good for us. We really don’t want to be in that type of game if we can avoid it. Offensively, we need to run the football well to limit Canton’s possessions. These are two different extremes on offense that will be on the field Friday night.”

Moffatt is impressed with Canton’s personnel offensively, especially wide receiver Justus Petree, who has had multiple 100-yard receiving games this season.

“He is a heck of a player, and he was really good last year,” emphasized the Vandal head coach. “He is a dangerous player. He catches the ball well and he runs good routes. His ability to run after the catch makes him tough to stop. Their quarterback, Nathan Parker, throws the ball well. He is getting better every week.”

Van’s sub-varsity schedule Thursday, Sept. 28 will have the junior varsity and freshmen football teams traveling to Canton with the freshmen game starting at 5 p.m. followed by the J.V. contest. The Vandal junior high teams will host Canton Thursday, Sept. 28 starting at 4 p.m.

In addition to Van’s district opening win at Brownsboro and Canton’s loss to Center, the other District 8-4A, Division 2, result on Sept. 22 saw Carthage breezing past Bullard, 45-14, in Carthage.

District action continues Sept. 29 with Rusk opening its district schedule at Center (1-0) while Brownsboro (0-1) visits Carthage (1-0).

For results of the Van/Canton district and VZC showdown and a preview of the Vandals’ trip to Rusk Oct. 6, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.