Vandals open district play Sept. 22 at undefeated Brownsboro
DAVID BARBER
After finishing non-district play with a 3-1 record including consecutive close wins over Lindale and Paris, the Van Vandals are ready for their most important stretch of their 2023 campaign as they will begin the road to what they hope will end up being the District 8-4A, Division 2, championship.
That road will first travel to Brownsboro Friday, Sept. 22 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the undefeated Brownsboro Bears (4-0).
Both teams are coming off one-point wins Sept. 15 as the Vandals edged Paris on Homecoming night at Van’s Memorial Stadium while the Bears held off Spring Hill in overtime.
“They are undefeated for a reason,” pointed out Vandal Head Coach Jared Moffatt. “They have one-point wins over Athens and Spring Hill as a result of successful two-point conversions. They have talented experienced players on offense. They are playing hard on defense. I know that they will be fired up to play us. We have to play extremely well. They have lots of ability. It should be a great game.”
Offensively, Moffatt said that the Bears have shown a lot of different looks during their non-district games.
“I think they are still trying to develop their identity offensively,” pointed out Moffatt. “They have a sophomore quarterback who is getting better every week. Their wide receiver, Gekeyle Baker, has had college offers from all over the place. He has tremendous speed. They have other receivers who are making plays for them as well. Their running back runs really hard. Brownsboro has run plays from under center. They have shown the I-formation and they have also run out of the ‘shotgun’ formation as well.
“Defensively, Brownsboro will show an ‘odd-front,” continued Moffatt. “Their kids play very aggressively. They are running well to the football. They have kept people out of the end zone, and they are winning. Their kicker can kick off to the end zone.”
On the injury front, wide receiver Easton Hinch is expected to return to the Vandal lineup against Brownsboro after missing last week’s game against Paris with a hamstring injury.
All members of District 8-4A, Division 2, have completed their non-district schedules and there is not one team with a losing record entering district play Sept. 22.
In addition to the Van/Brownsboro showdown Sept. 22, the Canton Eagles (2-2) will host the Center Rough Riders (3-1) for Homecoming while the Bullard Panthers (4-0) will travel to Carthage to take on the defending district and state champions, the Carthage Bulldogs (4-0), in a battle of undefeated teams.
“Everybody is winning in our district,” pointed out Moffatt. “Every team in our district won last Friday night. There are three undefeated teams in our district. This district race is shaping up pretty much like I thought it would. All of us in the district have found ways to win tough games and all of the teams come into district play with a lot of confidence.”
The Vandal freshmen and junior varsity squads will host Brownsboro at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21 at Van’s Memorial Stadium.
Due to the large number of freshmen players, the Vandals and the Bears will play two freshmen games prior to the start of the J.V. contest. Van’s junior high teams will travel to Brownsboro for a 4 p.m. kickoff Sept. 21.
For results of the Van/Brownsboro district opener and a preview of the Sept. 29 district matchup against their Van Zandt County rival, the Canton Eagles, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.