DAVID BARBER
Sports Correspondent
Trailing 13-0 at the end of the first quarter and 20-14 at halftime, the Van Vandals stormed back in the second half to capture a come-from-behind 38-30 victory Nov. 15 over the Athens Hornets in Class 4A, Division 2 bi-district playoff action in Tyler.
Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals are now 8-3 overall as they will face the Van Alstyne Panthers, also 8-3, in the Area round of the Class 4A, Division 2 state playoffs in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Nov. 22 at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
Against Athens (8-3), the Vandals finished with 18 first downs and 381 yards of total offense including 245 yards rushing and 136 yards passing as they executed 59 offensive plays.
The Hornets had 16 first downs and 298 yards of total offense including 219 yards rushing and 79 yards passing on 42 offensive plays.
Vandal running back Austin Moffatt led the Van offensive attack with 191 yards rushing on 30 carries and one touchdown in addition to catching five passes for 58 yards and two TD’s.
Quarterback Jaxon Moffatt completed 11 out of 16 passes for 136 yards, three TD’s, and no interceptions in addition to carrying the ball 12 times for 50 yards rushing.
Easton Hinch led the Vandal receivers with two receptions for 37 yards. Asher Hawkins caught a 21-yard pass and Caden Rowe caught two passes for 10 yards and one TD.
Van’s defense held Athens to 10 points in the second half and allowed 87 total yards in the final two quarters of play.
Vandal defensive back Cade Christensen finished with 12 total tackles and two batted passes/pass breakups.
“It was a tough game, definitely back-and forth,” recalled Vandal Head Football Coach Jared Moffatt. “It was a slow start for us. Athens had something to do with that. They were a good football team. They had won eight of their last nine games coming in.”
An interesting sidelight to the game was the coaching matchup as Athens Head Football Coach Zac Harrell was on Jared Moffatt’s staff at Van prior to leaving for Athens.
“Coach Harrell’s kids played really hard,” said Jared Moffatt. “I thought the game was a good matchup. It was a unique game. It was the first time that I had coached a game against one of my former assistants who is now a head coach. I didn’t like it. It was a tough game. They played well early. We have been in that position before being down early in the game. Our kids knew that they could come back against them. We just needed to keep on playing. I appreciate that about our kids and our coaching staff here. Nobody panicked. We just looked for solutions. I was real proud of the way we fought back. It was a great playoff win. There were a ton of huge plays made by a lot of different players at key moments.”
Jared Moffatt said that it was not in the original game plan for Austin Moffatt to have 35 touches in the game, running and receiving, against Athens.
“Austin is not the biggest guy on the field,” pointed out Jared Moffatt. “We usually try to keep his touches down to around 20 in a game. That was our 11th football game this season. Bodies get beat up and take a lot of punishment. We knew going in that we had to run the ball well. Austin did an amazing job of finding yards. He had some unbelievable runs. I have a lot of trust and confidence in him. He gives us everything he has on each play. Our offensive line played well. We played just enough plays in the passing game.” 
Following a poor five-yard punt by the Vandals in their opening possession, the Hornets took over in excellent field position at midfield.
Six plays later, Hornet RB Jase Warren completed the 50-yard march with a six-yard TD run giving Athens a 6-0 lead with 7:32 remaining in the first quarter. The extra point attempt was wide left. Key plays in the first Athens’ scoring drive included pass completions from QB David Richardson covering 11 yards to Cody Carter and 14 yards to wide receiver Julious Brewer.
After another Vandal punt, the Hornets extended their lead by moving 71 yards in seven plays as RB Jabory Taylor powered into the end zone on a 1-yard TD run. Agustin Rodriguez added the extra point giving Athens a 13-0 advantage with 2:56 remaining in the first quarter. Key plays in the Hornet scoring march included running gains of 21 yards by Brewer and 15 yards by Warren in addition to a personal foul penalty against the Vandals.
The Vandals responded with a 66-yard scoring drive of their own in 13 plays as Jaxon Moffatt connected with Rowe on a 7-yard TD pass play to end the march. Aiden Moore added the extra point cutting the Vandal deficit to 13-7 with 8:52 to play in the second quarter. A key play in Van’s first TD drive included a 21-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hawkins.
Athens countered with a 72-yard scoring drive in six plays as Warren ended the march with a 1-yard TD run. Rodriguez added the extra point giving Athens a 20-7 advantage with 6:12 remaining in the second quarter. Running gains of 35 yards by Richardson and 25 yards by Warren were key plays in the scoring drive for the Hornets.
Van stormed right back on its next offensive series advancing 65 yards in seven plays as the Moffatt twins hooked up on a 44-yard TD pass play from Jaxon to Austin to complete the march. Moore added the extra point cutting Van’s deficit to 20-14 with 2:28 to play before halftime. A 10-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt opened the scoring drive for the Vandals.
The Hornets threatened to add to their lead before intermission as they moved from their own 30 to the Vandal 31 in six plays including a 31-yard run by Warren but on fourth down and two at the Van 31, Richardson was tackled after a one-yard gain giving Van the opportunity to run out the first half clock and keeping their deficit at six points entering halftime.
Following an Athens punt early in the third quarter, the Vandals appeared to be on the verge of taking the lead as they moved from their own 35 to the Athens 15 in two plays including a 42-yard run by Austin Moffatt but the scoring threat ended on the next play as Austin Moffatt was ruled to have fumbled with Athens returning the ball to the Hornet 35.
“It was a controversial call on the fumble,” said Jared Moffatt. “We thought he was down before the ball came out, but it wasn’t called that way. It was a big call at the time.”
Two plays later, one of the biggest plays in the game took place as Van linebacker Wyatt Dale stepped in front of the receiver on an attempted screen pass and returned an interception 35 yards for a Vandal TD. Moore added the extra point giving the Vandals their first lead of the game at 21-20 with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter.
“I thought at that moment, we really had the momentum,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “Waylon King did a great job of putting pressure on their quarterback on that play. That defensive score was huge at the time for us.”
Keedrion (Dewayne) Minifee returned the ensuing kickoff for Athens 82 yards before he was brought down from behind by Van’s Blaise Lineberry at the Vandal 8-yard line saving a TD.
“We just fought all the way back and took the lead but then, we gave up a big play on special teams,” said Jared Moffatt. “Blaise made a tremendous effort to make the tackle. That was a four-point tackle. He saved us four points. We then made a stand defensively and held them to a field goal.”
Van’s defense stiffened and forced the Hornets into a fourth down and goal situation at the Vandal 3-yard line when Rodriguez was sent in to attempt a 21-yard field goal which was good giving Athens a 23-21 lead with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter.
The Vandals came right back advancing 64 yards in six plays as Austin Moffatt outraced the Hornet defense 37 yards for a TD. Moore added the extra point giving the Vandals a 28-23 advantage with 3:44 to play in the third quarter. A 10-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to H-back Foster Rust was a key play in the go-ahead scoring drive for Van.
Athens was flagged for a face mask penalty during the TD run by Austin Moffatt allowing the Vandals to kick off from the Hornet 45 when Van perfectly executed an onside kick with Rowe recovering the ball just before going out of bounds at the Athens 26.
“Aiden Moore did a great job on the onside kick,” emphasized the Vandal head coach. “Carter Admire and Cade Christensen destroyed their blockers on the play. Caden Rowe made an incredible play to grab that ball with one hand and keeping a foot inbounds at the same time.”
Following five consecutive running plays (four by Austin Moffatt), the Vandals extended their lead on a 5-yard TD pass play from Jaxon Moffatt to Austin Moffatt. Moore added the extra point extending Van’s lead to 35-23 with 52 seconds still to play in the third quarter.
“Easton Hinch and Caden Rowe did an unbelievable job of blocking on that play,” recalled Jared Moffatt. “This group is very unselfish. All they want to do is win. They don’t care who gets the credit.”
The Hornets refused to go away as they returned the ensuing kickoff to the Van 48 when three plays later, Richardson connected with Eli Carnes on a 29-yard TD pass play. Rodriguez added the extra point cutting the Vandal lead to 35-30 with 11:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. Richardson opened the scoring drive with an 11-yard run.
Van responded by moving the ball from its own 24 to the Hornet 5-yard line in eight plays including a 31-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Hinch and a 23-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt.
Facing fourth down and goal at the Athens 5-yard line, Moore was sent in to attempt a 22-yard FG which was good extending Van’s lead to 38-30 with 6:28 remaining.
Athens’ final offensive possession saw the Hornets move from their own 33 to the Vandal 48 in four plays including a 15-yard run by Richardson but on fourth down and six at the Van 48, Richardson’s downfield pass to Brewer was knocked away by the Vandal defense giving Van possession.
With the Hornets out of timeouts, the Vandals ran the ball seven straight times, including a three-yard gain by Jaxon Moffatt on fourth down and two, to run out the clock and celebrate an eight-point win.
The Vandal head coach recognized the individual performances of Dale, Moore, Austin Moffatt, Rust, linebacker Landon Smith, Hinch, King, center Justus Anderson, offensive left tackle Cooper Hullum, and Rowe.