DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com

One more pre-season tune-up remains before the games start to count next week for the Van Vandal varsity football team.

Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals head to Palestine Thursday, Aug. 21 for their final pre-season scrimmage.

Before discussing the Palestine scrimmage, Moffatt looked back at the home scrimmage against Class 5A Corsicana Aug. 15.

“We saw some good things in the Corsicana scrimmage,” recalled Moffatt. “I was excited to see how the defense was running around. I liked the mentality of the guys that are playing on defense right now. The guys really got after it and they played with the right level of intensity. We did give up some deep balls. We have to improve on that. Other than three big pass plays, I thought our defense played really well. 

“Offensively, we had the one drive in our first possession in which we made some plays and ended up scoring a touchdown,” continued Moffatt. “It was a good offensive drive for us. After that possession, we had opportunities to make plays, and we just didn’t do that. I felt like we wasted five snaps not blocking the right guy. It’s one thing to get beat on a play. It’s another thing when you don’t block somebody. That happened too many times. Two different times, we called a different play than the one that was signaled. We cannot afford to waste downs. We have to have a premium on execution. That has to be cleaned up. 

“Overall, it was a good scrimmage,” summarized Moffatt. “We saw some things we needed to see. On the defensive side, we played a bunch of different people. Tim Jones and Carter Admire at the linebacker position are going to make a lot of tackles for us. Boston Blalock played a lot of snaps. It is nice to have him back at linebacker this season. Sophomore strong safety Parker Rainey made a big play in the middle of the field for us. That position is very important in our defense. Our defensive ends, Ti’ler Williams and Brigg Barton, did some good things for us.

“Offensively, Connor Ammons played well at wide receiver for us,” said Moffatt. “He made a couple of big third down catches. Cash Walker also did a good job at wide receiver. Offensively, we are looking for production and where that production is coming from. That is continuing to develop. The identity of this offense needs to take shape. It will come together over time. We have to see what our players can and can’t do. Rawly Hinch is doing a good job as a first year starting varsity quarterback for us. He has a great demeanor. He is real steady and doesn’t get rattled. He is throwing the ball really well and making good decisions. His ability to scramble with confidence and making plays out of the pocket is really impressive. Our offensive line is coming together with three guys coming back and three sophomores that will be seeing a lot of playing time as well.”

Before the Palestine scrimmage, Moffatt said that finalizing his starting lineup for the regular season opener at home against Dallas Carter Friday, Aug. 29 is continuing to take shape.

“I think we are pretty close on determining our starters,” emphasized Moffatt. “We do have this scrimmage at Palestine, and we have our practices. There are still a lot of questions and unknowns, particularly on offense, that will have to take shape. There are still things to be determined. We have to determine what the identity of our offense is going to be.”

Moffatt also said that he has been impressed so far with the leadership of his seniors heading into the start of a new season.

“These seniors are doing a good job of leadership and educating our younger players about how we do things here,” pointed out the Vandal head coach. “These seniors have been here and they know what to expect and I can see them passing that along to the younger players each and every day. The younger players are falling in line. You are only as good as your senior class. These kids are always ready to go to work.”

Palestine. 1-9 last season, is predicted to finish sixth in District 8-4A, Division 1, by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine.

Other teams competing in District 8-4A, Division 1, include district favorite Kilgore, Chapel Hill, Lindale, Pine Tree, Henderson, and Mabank.

“Palestine is a talented football team with good size,” pointed out Moffatt. “They are fast and athletic. You know before you get off the bus what they are going to look like. They have some good players back. Their head coach is in his second year at Palestine. They will be a better football team this season.”

Moffatt is anxious to see how his team performs in their final pre-season scrimmage before next week’s regular season opener.

According to Moffatt, the format of the scrimmage at Palestine will feature a set of 12 plays followed by a set of 10 plays before playing an actual quarter of football.

“I know our kids are going to play hard and they are going to compete because we are still trying to answer some questions about who is going to get playing time,” summarized Moffatt. “We need to go out and execute a lot of plays well in this scrimmage.”

The Vandals have added a new kicker to their roster as senior Alex Acves of the Van High School soccer team will handle the extra point, kickoff, and field goal duties moving forward.

“I am excited about having Alex join our team,” said Moffatt. “He actually kicked for us some as a sophomore when we went through a number of injuries in our kicking game that season. Going into the season, our available kickers were Aiden Willis, a receiver, and Rawly Hinch, our starting quarterback. I wanted to have someone whose only responsibility was to kick. I did not want to have a starting player be the kicker. Alex has a chance to really help us.”

Following the Palestine scrimmage, the Vandals will be preparing for their regular season opener as they will host the Dallas Carter Cowboys in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Aug. 29 at Van’s Memorial Stadium.