DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

An efficient offense and big plays out of the special teams by the visiting Van Vandals were too much to overcome for the upset-minded Spring Hill Panthers Oct. 10 at Panther Stadium as the Vandals pulled away to a 49-26 district-opening victory.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 4-2 overall and 1-0 in District 7-4A, Division 2, play will have their district home opener as they will host the Gilmer Buckeyes (2-4, 1-0) in an important 7 p.m. kickoff Friday, Oct. 17 at Van’s Memorial Stadium. Gilmer defeated the Pittsburg Pirates in their district opener Oct. 10, 36-25, in Gilmer.

Against Spring Hill, the Vandals finished with 24 first downs and 428 yards of total offense including 296 yards rushing and 132 yards passing.

Van scored touchdowns on six out of eight offensive possessions against the Panthers. The only offensive drives that did not result in touchdowns for the Vandals were stopped by turnovers on the plus-side of midfield.

Vandal running back Da’Quavion Williams led the Van offensive charge with 228 yards rushing on 19 carries and four TD’s. Williams also caught a 33-yard screen pass for a TD.

Quarterback Rawly Hinch completed nine out of 13 passes for 132 yards, one TD, and one interception for the Vandals.

Van receiver Aiden Willis caught three passes for 37 yards and receiver Cash Walker had three receptions for 29 yards.

Spring Hill (1-5, 0-1) finished the district opener with 19 first downs and 388 yards of total offense including 257 yards rushing and 131 yards passing.

“I was really proud of the way we won the game Friday night, but there were also some frustrating moments in the game as well,” recalled Moffatt. “We left two scores on the field because of turnovers. That is never good. Offensively, we played pretty well. We did have some chances to make more plays in the passing game which we didn’t do. We ran the ball well. Our offensive line played well up front. “Q’ (Da’Quavion Williams) ran the ball well obviously. I thought we played well offensively but we only had an eight-point lead at halftime. I was proud that we were able to put the game away in the fourth quarter.

“Defensively, we gave up some big plays,” continued Moffatt. “I thought at times, that we really were doing some good things but then again, there were other times that we did not play well. We challenged our guys to win on first down against their offense. I thought we won on first down a lot. 

“The challenge to our team moving forward is can we put together complete games when we need them the most,” said Moffatt. “We play good in spots and done a lot of things well. It is not good enough. There are always areas where we have to get better. I am proud of what this team has accomplished so far. We just need to find a way to play better than we are currently doing. It is great to be 1-0 in district.”

The Vandals received the opening kickoff and appeared to be ready to open the scoring as they moved from their own 20 to the Panther 7-yards line in nine plays including pass completions from Hinch covering 17 yards to Ian Hopson and 25 yards to Willis but the scoring threat ended on third down and two at Panther 7-yard line when reserve RB Marcus Fabian fumbled. Spring Hill defensive lineman Ryan Barton recovered the ball at the Spring Hill 4-yard line.

Spring Hill ended up getting the scoring underway as the Panthers moved 96 yards in seven plays to take the first lead as the Spring Hill RB ended the march with a 9-yard TD run giving the Panthers a 6-0 lead with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter. The extra point attempt was blocked. Key plays in the first Spring Hill scoring drive included running gains of 23 yards by QB Brody Proctor and 27 yards by RB Coleman Stout in addition to a 24-yard pass completion from Proctor to Joseph Ventura.

After recovering a Panther onside kick attempt, the Vandals moved 53 yards in eight plays to take a lead they would never give up.

Williams ended the drive with a 2-yard TD run. Alex Aceves made the first of his seven extra points, giving the Vandals a 7-6 lead with 11:23 to play in the second quarter. Key plays in the first Vandal scoring drive including running gains of 17, 14, and 10 yards by Williams.

Following a Spring Hill punt, the Vandals extended their lead as they moved 50 yards in seven plays with Williams ending the march on a 5-yard TD run. Aceves added the extra point, giving Van a 14-6 advantage with 6:41 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included running gains of 10 and 13 yards by Williams and 14 yards by Hinch.

Spring Hill rallied with a 73-yard scoring march in eight plays to draw closer to the Vandals as Stout ended the march with a 16-yard TD run. Roc Williams added the extra point, cutting Van’s lead to 14-13 with 3:18 to play before halftime. Key plays in the Panther scoring drive included a 13-yard run by the RB and a 30-yard pass completion from Proctor to RB Keilan Logan.

Van answered with a 65-yard return of the ensuing kickoff by Walker for a TD. Aceves added the extra point, giving the Vandals a 21-13 lead with 3:09 to play in the second quarter.

Following a Panther punt, it appeared that the Vandals would be extending their lead heading into intermission as they moved from the 49 to the 12 in Spring Hill territory in two plays including an 18-yard pass completion from Hinch to Walker and a face mask penalty against the Panthers.

The scoring threat ended on first down at the Panther 12 when Hinch’s pass over the middle to receiver Connor Ammons was intercepted by Spring Hill’s Quinton Cutler and returned to the Panther 15, allowing Spring Hill to run out the first half clock.

Spring Hill received the third quarter kickoff and drew closer to the Vandals as the Panthers advanced 68 yards in five plays. Proctor ended the drive by connecting with the Panther receiver on a 28-yard TD pass completion. The attempted two-point conversion by the Panthers was no good as the Vandals maintained a 21-19 lead with 9:45 remaining in the third quarter. A 28-yard run by the Panthers and a personal foul penalty against the Vandals were key plays in the Spring Hill scoring drive.

Following the recovery of another Spring Hill onside kick attempt, the Vandals extended their advantage as they moved 61 yards in six plays with the drive ending on a beautifully designed screen pass connection from Hinch to Da’Quavion Williams covering 33 yards and a TD. Aceves added the extra point, giving the Vandals a 28-19 lead with 7:22 to play in the third quarter. An 11-yard run by Da’Quavion Williams was a key play in the Vandal scoring march.

Spring Hill refused to go away as they came back with a 70-yard scoring drive in four plays as Stoudt (17 carries, 162 yards, three TD’s) ended the drive with a 59-yard TD run. Roc Williams added the extra point, cutting Van’s lead to 28-26 with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter. An 11-yard pass completion from Proctor to Ventura set up the TD run by Stout.

Aftet another onside kick recovery by the Vandals, Van began to put the game out of reach as they moved 53 yards in seven plays with Hinch ending the march with a 3-yard TD run. Aceves added the extra point, giving the Vandals a 35-26 advantage with 2:36 to play in the third quarter. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive included pass completions from Hinch covering 14 yards to Willis and 16 yards to Ammons.

Spring Hill’s next offensive possession ended on fourth down and 11 at its own 34 when Proctor’s pass was incomplete giving the Vandals possession.

On the next play, Da’Quavion Williams raced 34 yards for a TD. Aceves added the extra point, giving the Vandals a 42-26 lead with 53.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Panthers then put together a long time-consuming march as they moved from their own 16 to the Vandal 23 in 14 plays including an 11-yard run by Stout and a 19-yard pass completion from Proctor, but on fourth down and eight at the Van 23, Proctor’s pass to wide receiver Cason Copeland was incomplete giving the Vandals possession.

Three running plays later, Da’Quavion Williams closed out the scoring with a 22-yard TD run. Aceves added the extra point, giving the Vandals a comfortable 49-26 advantage with 3:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Vandal RB began the scoring drive with running gains of 36 and 19 yards.

Spring Hill ran six offensive plays, including a 19-yard run by Stout, to end the game with the ball at midfield.

The number of onside kicks that Spring Hill attempted in the game were not a surprise to Moffatt.

“Their team onside kicks a lot because their defense is struggling,” pointed out Moffatt. “Their offense is the strength of their team. They decided to take their chances with onside kicks. In their game against Grandview, they recovered three onside kicks. We were anticipating that. Our coaches did a really good job in preparing for that and our kids executed extremely well. We recovered all of their onside kick attempts. We also did a good job covering kickoffs as well. Our PAT unit has been really good. Our punt returners did a good job catching punts and saving us field position. Cash Walker did a nice job on that kickoff return for a touchdown. Our special teams played well in a number of areas Friday night and that has to continue.”

The Vandal head coach recognized several individual performances in the Spring Hill game starting with Williams, who had five total TD’s in the game.

“Q’ (Williams) ran the ball well and did a great job on that screen pass for a TD,” pointed out Moffatt. “Our success on offense starts with the offensive line. This unit needed to be the strength of our team this year, and they have played extremely well. Landon Robinson (senior offensive lineman) got the ‘Game Ball’ this week. Our sophomore offensive linemen, Reed Haltom and Jayse Wilson, continue to do a great job for us. They are improving every week. Rawly Hinch has played really well for us all season. Cash Walker continues to make plays. Aiden Willis is doing a good job on both sides of the ball. Our defensive line hit their quarterback a lot. Parker Rainey is playing well at strong safety. It is sure good to have Carter Admire back at linebacker for us. We are going to continue to need contributions from everyone on this team moving forward. Everybody just needs to do their job.”