DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

With two district games remaining, the Van Vandals (4-4 overall and 1-2 in district play) know that in order to qualify for post-season play, they must keep winning.

The road to the playoffs won’t be easy as their next challenge is to take on the district co-leading and undefeated Athens Hornets (8-0, 3-0) in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Oct. 30 at Bruce Field in Athens.

The Hornets are coached by former Vandal offensive coordinator Zac Harrell.

 “Coach Harrell and I are friends,” pointed out Vandal Head Football Coach Jared Moffatt. “We have known each other for the past 25 years. We coached together at Denton Ryan. He was at Van for two different time periods before moving on to Athens. I am real close to him. I have been impressed and real proud of what he and his coaching staff have accomplished in Athens. They have done an unbelievable job. They are coming off their best season in school history advancing to the fourth round of the state playoffs. 

“I remember after the end of last season, a lot of people were saying that Athens was going to be down this season after graduating a great senior class,” continued Moffatt. “I went on record a lot of different times to remind people that they are winning at every level with their sub-varsity teams. They are doing things this year that I am not sure a lot of people were anticipating them to do. They have done an impressive job with their program.

“Athens has played well on both sides of the ball,” said Moffatt. “I have been real impressed with their sophomore quarterback. He has run the ball well and he has made a lot of big plays in their passing game. They have a couple of really good running backs. Their offensive line is impressive. Athens is scoring a lot of points. Their receivers are good. They have a slot receiver, a senior, that plays every down at cornerback on defense. They are playing consistently well.

“Defensively, they had some guys out early due to injury but they are back,” pointed out Moffatt. “They have a great outside linebacker. They have a couple of defensive linemen that are playing well. Their secondary is athletic. They are really solid on defense and it has shown in their district games especially. It is going to take everything we have Friday night to compete with Athens on the road.”

The Hornets operate out of the shotgun formation on offense primarily, according to Moffatt.

“They do some things similar to us, but they are also doing some different things as well, and they are doing a good job of executing,” said Moffatt. 

Defensively, Athens is showing multiple looks, but they are lining up primarily in an odd-front, according to the Vandal head coach.

“They have the ability to give you a lot of different fronts,” said Moffatt. “We have to be ready for that. They cover well in the back end which gives them the ability to load up the box and make things more difficult for your offense. Their kicking game is also solid. They have a really good kicker who can kick off into the end zone. Their return people are dangerous. For us to win at Athens, we have to play very well in all three phases. Athens is a really good football team that is playing with a ton of confidence. We must protect the football.”

With rain potentially in the forecast for Friday night’s game, Moffatt does not see the elements as being a big factor in the contest at Athens.

“Maybe it rains, maybe it doesn’t,” summarized Moffatt. “I always remember what Mike Tomlin (former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach) said when he was talking about the weather, ‘football is an outdoor sport. Rain, sleet, snow, sunshine, hot, cold. That’s part of it’ We have played in the rain before. Outdoor events can be affected by weather. Whatever the weather is, we have to go out and be ready to play.”

Sub-varsity games between the Vandals and the Hornets will be played Thursday, Oct.  29, with Van’s junior high teams visiting Athens at approximately 4:30 p.m. with Van hosting the freshmen and junior varsity games beginning at 5 p.m.

Other district matchups in addition to the Van/Athens game Oct. 30 will feature the undefeated Canton Eagles (3-0 in district) visiting Madisonville (2-1) and Brownsboro traveling to Rusk in a battle of winless district teams.

On the final Friday night of the season Nov. 6, Van will host Rusk, Canton will welcome Athens in a game that could match two undefeated teams playing for a district championship, and Madisonville visiting Brownsboro.

For results of the game against Athens as well as a preview of Van’s final district and regular season game against Rusk at Van’s Memorial Stadium Nov. 6, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.