DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

A furious second half rally fell just short at the end for the Van Vandals Sept. 9 as the visiting Lindale Eagles built up a 20-point lead at halftime on their way to a 30-27 victory spoiling Homecoming night at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

During pre-game festivities, Cami Nicholas was named as the 2022 Van High School Homecoming Queen while Beau Barton was selected as the 2022 VHS Homecoming King.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, now 2-1 for the season, will close out their non-district schedule as they will travel to Paris to take on the Paris Wildcats in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Sept. 16, before opening District 8-4A, Division 2, play at home Friday, Sept. 23 against the Brownsboro Bears.

Against Lindale, the Vandals finished with 19 first downs and 344 yards of total offense including 104 yards rushing and 240 yards passing.

The Eagles registered 22 first downs and 303 yards of total offense including 234 yards rushing and 69 yards passing.

Van sophomore quarterback Jaxon Moffatt completed 16 out of 27 passes for 240 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Sophomore receiver Caden Rowe finished the game with five receptions for 175 yards including a 91-yard TD catch-and-run on Van’s first offensive drive of the contest.

Senior receiver Brayden Bradshaw caught six passes for 30 yards and a TD and carried the ball four times for 29 yards and a rushing TD.

Defensively, the Vandals were led by defensive back Garrett Florey (14 tackles, one fumble caused, and one interception); linebacker Christian Capuzano (11 tackles and three tackles for losses); and linebacker Beau Barton (nine tackles, one tackle for a loss and one QB pressure).

“It was an unfortunate loss,” emphasized Jared Moffatt. “We played a terrible first half. I was really proud of our performance in the second half. At halftime, we were facing our first real adversity of the season. Our kids responded well like we needed them to in the second half. We got the ball to start the third quarter and drove down the field for a touchdown. We really needed that. It got things going for us. Our defense forced an interception to be thrown in the end zone. I was proud of how our kids responded to the adversity. We had a chance to win it at the end.”

Lindale received the opening kickoff and moved 61 yards in 13 plays to get on the scoreboard first as running back Colter Maya (12 carries, 70 yards) ended the march with a 2-yard TD run on fourth down and goal giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter. Eagle QB Clint Thurman attempted to run in the two-point conversion but was stopped short of the goal-line by the Vandal defense.

Following an illegal block penalty against the Vandals on the ensuing kickoff forcing Van to start its first offensive series at their own 9-yard line, Jaxon Moffatt connected with Rowe on a 91-yard TD pass play on third down and 10. Fernando Jimenez added the extra point giving the Vandals a sudden 7-6 advantage with 6:22 to play in the first quarter which turned out to be the only time that Van held the lead in the game.

Lindale responded by moving 74 yards in nine plays to re-take the lead as Thurman ended the march with a 2-yard TD run. Seth Baggett added the extra point giving the visiting Eagles a 13-7 lead with 3:50 still remaining in the first quarter. Running gains of 14 yards by Maya, 21 and 12 yards by RB Patrick Daniels and a 14-yard pass completion from Thurman to receiver Marcus Field were key plays in the go-ahead scoring drive for Lindale.

After a Vandal punt, the Eagles extended their lead with a 45-yard scoring drive in four plays. Fields (18 carries, 131 yards) ended the short march with a 26-yard TD run. Baggett added the extra point giving Lindale a 20-7 advantage with 10:08 remaining in the second quarter. A 10-yard run by Maya began the march for the Eagles.

The Vandals advanced from their own 25 to the Eagle 36 in seven plays on their next offensive series including pass completions from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe covering 10 and 32 yards but the scoring threat ended on fourth down and 13 when Jaxon Moffatt’s pass to Rowe was incomplete giving Lindale possession.

Following an exchange of punts, the Eagles extended their lead as they moved 80 yards in six plays. Thurman connected with receiver Brett Maya on a 9-yard TD pass play to end the march. Baggett added the extra point to give Lindale a 27-7 advantage with 35 seconds to play before halftime. Key plays in the Eagle scoring drive included a 27-yard pass completion from Thurman to receiver Ethan Moriarty and a 38-yard run by Daniels.

Down by 20 points to start the second half, the Vandals began coming back as they took the third quarter kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays to cut into their deficit.

Jaxon Moffatt connected with RB Garrett Florey on a 26-yard TD pass play to end the drive as the Vandals trailed 27-13 with 6:29 to play in the third quarter. The extra point attempt was blocked. Key plays in the Vandal scoring drive including running gains of 12 yards by Bradshaw and 11 yards by Florey (10 carries, 47 yards) in addition to a 16-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Bradshaw.

Lindale threatened to add to its lead as they moved from their own 45 to the Vandal 9-yard line in seven plays including running gains of 13 yards by Daniels and 14 yards by Colter Maya in addition to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Vandals leading up to third down and five for the Eagles.

Thurman’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Van defensive back Florey in the end zone ending the Lindale scoring threat and giving the Vandals possession following a touchback.

The Vandals marched 80 yards in 16 plays to draw closer to the Eagles on the scoreboard. Bradshaw ran nine yards for a TD to end the long time-consuming drive. Jimenez added the extra point cutting the Vandal deficit to 27-20 with 8:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. A pass interference penalty against the Eagles was a key play in the scoring march for the Vandals.

After an unsuccessful onside kick attempt by the Vandals, which was recovered by Lindale, the Eagles took over possession at their own 46.

Five plays later, including a 15-yard run by Thurman and a pass interference penalty against the Vandals, the Eagles faced fourth down and seven at the Vandal 19 when Baggett was sent in to attempt a 36-yard field goal attempt. The kick by Baggett was good extending Lindale’s lead to 30-20 with 5:51 remaining.

Following a 39-yard return of the ensuing kickoff by Van’s Cannon Rainey giving the Vandals excellent field position at the Van 47, the Vandals refused to give up and marched 53 yards in six plays to cut into the Lindale advantage on the scoreboard.

A 7-yard TD pass play from Jaxon Moffatt to Bradshaw followed by an extra point kick by Jimenez cut the Vandal deficit to three points, 30-27, with 3:37 to play. A 35-yard pass completion from Jaxon Moffatt to Rowe and a defensive pass interference penalty against the Eagles were key plays in what turned out to be the final Vandal scoring drive of the game.

After another unsuccessful onside kick attempt by the Vandals that was recovered by Lindale at the Eagle 49, the Vandal defense stiffened after three straight running plays by Lindale forcing the Eagles to punt giving the Vandals one final offensive possession starting at their own 19 with 1:52 remaining.

Facing third down and 15 at their own 14, Jaxon Moffatt was blindsided by a Lindale defender forcing a fumble and an Eagle recovery at the Van 13 allowing Lindale to run out the clock with 1:16 to play.

Jared Moffatt discussed his decision to attempt two onside kicks in the fourth quarter against Lindale.

“Not having all three timeouts available to us was not a major factor in deciding to attempt the first onside kick” recalled Jared Moffatt. “We still had over eight minutes remaining in the game at that point and we were down by a touchdown. They had not moved the ball as well in the second half against us. I felt like that if we had executed both onside kicks better, we had a real good chance of recovering them. On the second onside kick, we had one timeout with three minutes left in the game. At that point, we felt like there was no choice but to onside kick.”

Individually, the Vandal head coach recognized the efforts of Jaxon Moffatt, Rowe, Bradshaw, receiver Luke Horton, offensive lineman Bruce Shaw, Florey, Barton, and Campuzano against Lindale.

Defensive statistics for the Lindale game recently released by the Vandal coaching staff included the following numbers:

Garrett Florey: 14 tackles, one fumble caused, and one interception; Christian Capuzano: 11 tackles and three tackles for losses; Beau Barton: nine tackles, one tackle for a loss and one QB pressure; Cannon Rainey: six tackles; Tuff Arozamena: six tackles and two tackles for losses; Landon Smith: five tackles, one tackle for a loss, two batted passes/pass breakups, and two QB pressures; Colten Miller: four tackles and one QB pressure; Reggie Johnson, two tackles; and Josh Christian, one tackle.