DAVID BARBER
davidb@vanzandtnews.com
For the third time in school history, the Van Vandals are playing football during the month of December.
Overcoming a 10-point deficit at halftime, Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals rallied for a 42-38 dramatic victory over the Sunnyvale Raiders in the regional semifinal round of the Class 4A, Division 2, state football playoffs Nov. 29 at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
It was the second time this season that the Vandals defeated Sunnyvale as Van celebrated Homecoming Sept. 20 with a 28-14 win over the Raiders.
Van will now face their strongest challenge yet in post-season play in a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday, Dec. 6 as they will take on the current number one ranked team in the state in Class 4A, Division 2, the Carthage Bulldogs, in the state quarterfinal round at Longview Pine Tree’s Pirate Stadium.
This will be Van’s first appearance in the state quarterfinals since 2016 and their only other appearance this deep in the state playoffs was when the Vandals won the state championship in 1979.
“It doesn’t get much better in this profession than to be practicing and playing football in the month of December,” pointed out Jared Moffatt following the win over Sunnyvale. “This is the second time in the 15 years that I have been in Van that we have reached the state quarterfinal round. When I was coaching at Denton Ryan for nine years, making the regional finals was pretty routine. We played in the state championship game there four years in a row. At Denton Ryan, if you didn’t make the fourth or fifth round in the playoffs, your season was considered a failure. 
“Here in Van, this is the third time in the history of the school that we have made it this far in the playoffs,” continued Jared Moffatt. “You have to stop and think about that. We need to take time to appreciate the fact that we are only one of eight teams in the state remaining to compete for a state championship. This is a tremendous accomplishment. We did not come this far just to say that we came this far. We expect to continue to win. All of our playoff games have been close. We could have lost any of those three games. Our kids are resilient and don’t quit. We will put a plan together for this week’s opponent and be ready to go out there and play as hard as we can and see what happens. This is another elimination game. Playing in December is pretty special. We need to be enjoying it.”
Competitive games like the victory over Sunnyvale were exciting for the fans to watch but Jared Moffatt pointed out it wasn’t always the most fun games to be coaching in.
“As coaches, we don’t get to sit back and enjoy it until after the game is over,” said Jared Moffatt. “There were a lot of momentum swings, a lot of ups and downs. Our kids have shown that type of resilience and fight all season long. Our kids are never done, and they showed that especially after being down by 10 points at halftime.”  
Against Sunnyvale Nov. 29, the Vandals trailed 24-14 at halftime and 31-28 at the end of the third quarter.
Vandal running back Austin Moffatt (21 carries, 150 yards rushing) scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 25-yard run with 2:17 remaining in the contest followed by a defensive stand for Van as they forced the Raider quarterback into an intentional grounding penalty against Sunnyvale on fourth down at the Van 48 allowing the Vandals to run out the clock.
The Vandals finished with 16 first downs and 386 yards of total offense including 173 yards rushing and 213 yards passing. Van was nine out of 12 on third down conversions.
Sunnyvale finished with 20 first downs and 411 yards of total offense including 73 yards rushing and 334 yards passing.
Van QB Jaxon Moffatt, Austin’s twin brother, completed 18 out of 28 passes for 213 yards, two TD’s, and two interceptions in addition to scoring two TD’s on the ground.
Asher Hawkins led the Vandal receivers with eight catches for 76 yards and two TD’s followed by Caden Rowe with four receptions for 96 yards. 
Easton Hinch caught three passes for 29 yards and Austin Moffatt caught three passes for 13 yards.
Defensively, the Vandals were led by linebacker Wyatt Dale with 15 total tackles, one QB pressure, and a critical 65-yard interception runback for a TD in the third quarter.
Defensive lineman Waylon King had 10 total tackles, two QB sacks, and two QB pressures.
The Vandals received the opening kickoff and opened with an impressive 86-yard scoring drive in 15 plays with Jaxon Moffatt ending the long time-consuming march with a 2-yard TD run. Aiden Moore added the first of his six extra points to give Van a 7-0 lead with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter. Key plays for the Vandals in their opening scoring drive including a 14-yard run by Austin Moffatt and third down pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt covering 14 yards to Hawkins and 16 yards to Rowe.
“They came out and played us differently that what we were expecting initially,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “They played us differently defensively against our one-back set. We ran the ball more because of that. That was not in the script originally, but we had to do it. Just like we did on most of our drives, we made some huge third down conversions.”
Following an exchange of punts, the Raiders got on the scoreboard as they moved 56 yards in five plays with Raider QB Cayson Maupin ending the march with a 23-yard TD run. Gabe Pendyala added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:04 to play in the second quarter. Key plays in Sunnyvale’s first scoring drive included a 12-yard pass completion from Maupin to wide receiver Joshua McDill (seven receptions, 107 yards) and an 11-yard run by Maupin.
Van’s next offensive possession resulted in a turnover as Austin Moffatt’s fumble was recovered by Raider outside linebacker Grayson Smith at the Vandal 34.
Six plays later, Raider RB Cade Andrews plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard TD run. Pendyala added the extra point giving Sunnyvale a 14-7 lead with 6:54 remaining in the second quarter. Key plays in the go-ahead scoring drive for Sunnyvale included a 10-yard pass completion from Maupin to McDill and a 12-yard run by Andrews.
Van came right back on its next offensive series as they moved 75 yards in only three plays with Jaxon Moffatt again ending the drive with a 1-yard TD run. Moore added the extra point to tie the game at 14-14 with 5:57 to play in the second quarter. A 69-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe was the key play that set up the TD for the Vandals.
Sunnyvale broke the deadlock on its next series of downs as they advanced 67 yards in seven plays to re-take the lead as Andrews finished the march with a 2-yard TD run. Pendyala added the extra point giving the Raiders a 21-14 lead with 3:23 remaining before halftime. A 30-yard pass completion from Maupin to McDill, a pass interference penalty against the Vandals, and an 11-yard run by Maupin were key plays in the scoring drive for the Raiders.
The turnover bug struck again for the Vandals on their next offensive possession as Jaxon Moffatt’s pass along the sideline was intercepted by the Raiders at the Van 48.
Sunnyvale moved as deep as the Vandal 2-yard line in nine plays including a pass interference penalty against the Vandals, a 14-yard run by Andrews, and pass completions by Maupin covering 17 yards to WR Owen Dlabaj and 16 yards to McDill.
Facing fourth down and goal at the Vandal 2-yard line, on the final play of the first half, Pendyala drilled a 20-yard field goal extending Sunnyvale’s advantage to 24-14 at halftime.
“We had two turnovers in the first half and gave up 24 points in the first half but holding them to a field goal at the end of the half was huge moving forward into the second half,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “Being down at halftime was nothing new for us. We just came out fighting in the second half. “
Following a poor two-yard punt by the Raiders early in the third quarter, the Vandals had excellent field position at the Raider 17.
Three plays later, Jaxon Moffatt connected with Hawkins on a 17-yard TD pass play. Moore added the extra point cutting the Vandal deficit to 24-21 with 9:15 to play in the third quarter.
After a personal foul penalty on the extra point attempt against the Raiders, Van lined up for the kickoff at the Raider 45 and attempted an onside kick, but Sunnyvale recovered the ball at their own 33.
The Raiders then moved from their own 33 to the Vandal 20 in seven plays including pass completions from Maupin covering 31 yards to Dlabaj and 19 yards to Andrews in addition to a 10-yard run by Maupin.
Facing fourth down and 16 at the Vandal 20, Pendyala was sent in to attempt a 36-yard FG, but his kick went wide left giving Van a first down at its own 20.
After a Vandal punt, the Raiders extended their advantage as they moved 74 yards in four plays with Maupin (15 completions, 21 attempts, 334 yards, two TD’s, one interception) connecting with Andrews (four receptions, 158 yards, two TD’s) on a 52-yard TD pass play. Pendyala added the extra point to increase Sunnyvale’s advantage to 31-21 with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter. A 15-yard pass completion from Maupin to McDill set up the TD pass play for the Raiders.
The two teams then exchanged turnovers as Jaxon Moffatt’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Sunnyvale cornerback Garren James at the Raider 48 setting up one of the big turning points in the game.
On Sunnyvale’s first offensive play after the Vandal turnover, Maupin’s pass was intercepted by Dale who returned the ball 65 yards for a Van TD. Moore added the extra point cutting Van’s deficit to 31-28 late in the third quarter.
“Maeson Ray, our defensive end, just smoked the quarterback on that interception play,” said Jared Moffatt. “Wyatt Dale runs it back for a touchdown. He got a couple of key blocks including one from Da’Quavion Williams, our cornerback. There were a lot of key plays made in the second half and that was sure one of them.”
Following a Raider punt early in the fourth quarter, the Vandals grabbed the lead with a long-time consuming march that covered 83 yards in 14 plays as Jaxon Moffatt connected with Hawkins on a 26-yard TD pass play to end the drive. Moore added the extra point to give the Vandals a 35-31 advantage with 5:29 to play in the fourth quarter. One of the key plays in the go-ahead scoring drive for the Vandals was a 16-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hinch.
“We converted three straight third downs on that drive,” pointed out the Vandal head coach. “That was our first lead since 7-0.”
It only took the Raiders two plays to get the lead back as Maupin again connected with Andrews, this time on a 61-yard TD pass play. Pendyala added the extra point giving Sunnyvale a 38-35 lead with 4:43 remaining.
Van’s most important offensive drive of the 2024 season followed and ended with what proved to be the winning TD march as the Vandals advanced 75 yards in six plays with Austin Moffatt racing 25 yards for a TD to end the drive. Moore added the extra point giving Van a 42-38 lead with 2:17 to play in the game. A 20-yard run by Austin Moffatt was a key play in the game-winning TD drive for the Vandals.
“That was an unbelievable touchdown run by Austin,” said Jared Moffatt. “We turned their defensive tackle loose on the play. Austin made him miss and finished the run with a touchdown. Our defense found a way to get a stop after that.”
Sunnyvale refused to go away as their final offensive series started at its own 27 but back-to-back pass completions from Maupin covering 10 yards to McDill and 26 yards to Andrews gave the Raiders a first down at the Vandal 37.
The Vandal defense then rose to the occasion as they sacked Maupin for an 11-yard loss setting up the final play for Sunnyvale with the Raiders facing fourth down and 21 at the Vandal 48 when a heavy pass rush by Van forced Maupin to throw the ball away. Maupin was penalized for intentional grounding on the play giving the Vandals possession at the Raider 37 as they ran two offensive snaps to expire the clock.
“Waylon King and Josh Christian, two of our defensive linemen, got pressure on their quarterback,” summarized Jared Moffatt. “They threw one deep ball that was defended well by Ian Hopson, our defensive back. We made the most important stop of the game. What a game. This was a great win for our team, our program, and our community.”
Jared Moffatt recognized some other individual efforts that were made in the win over Sunnyvale.
“Asher Hawkins played six quarters of varsity football in the last two seasons due to knee injuries and did not start at the beginning of this season,” said Jared Moffatt. “For him to come back and play the way he has is just remarkable. He is playing his best football right now. He is a great player and a great competitor.”
Other individual performances pointed out by Jared Moffatt included center Justus Anderson, offensive tackle Cooper Hullum, Jaxon Moffatt, Austin Moffatt, Rowe, Hinch (offensively and defensively), receiver Aiden Willis on his blocking, H-backs Chris Fabian and Foster Rust, Dale, Ray, King, Christian, Williams, defensive lineman Armando Lozano, defensive back Cade Christensen, Moore, deep snapper Jackson Reed, and holder Connor Ammons.
“We are getting production from so many players right now and we are really playing well as a team,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “There are no superstars on this team. It has been a great run with these guys.”