Vandals visit Lindale in rivalry game featuring undefeated state-ranked teams Friday, Sept. 12
DAVID BARBER
One of the most highly anticipated matchups in the young 2025 varsity football season will take place Friday, Sept. 12 in Lindale when the Van Vandals renew an old rivalry against the Lindale Eagles.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as multiple media outlets are expected to be in attendance to cover the contest.
Coach Jared Moffatt’s Vandals, 2-0 this season, are currently ranked 17th in the state in Class 4A, Division 2, according to Max Preps.
MaxPreps also has the Eagles ranked 11th in the state in Class 4A, Division 1. Lindale competes in District 9-4A, Division 1, with Kilgore, Chapel Hill, Pine Tree, Henderson, Palestine, and Mabank.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine has predicted that the Eagles will finish third in their district behind two higher state-ranked teams, Kilgore and Chapel Hill.
“This is my 16th game against Lindale since I have been at Van,” recalled Moffatt. “Coach Cochran has been at Lindale for a while as well. He and his staff do a great job over there. Lindale plays at a high level every year. They have certain things that they believe in, and their kids are comfortable doing what they do at Lindale. Faces change, the names change, but the thing that always remains constant in Lindale is that their players play hard, they are well coached, and they are playing at a hard level. They are winning year in and year out. They are a consistent, quality program. This game is going to be tight and physical. Our last five meetings against Lindale have been one-score games.
“This has always been one of my favorite games of the year because it is a non-district game played in a playoff-like atmosphere,” continued Moffatt. “The crowd is going to be big. The bands are going to be loud. Both towns really want to win this game. There is more on the line in this game compared to other non-district games that we play in. The towns are about 15 miles apart. The kids from both schools play against each other in football and other sports growing up. This is one of the best games of the year. Both teams are 2-0 and playing well. Both teams are confident and both teams expect to win Friday night. This should be a great high school football game.”
The Vandal head coach talked about this year’s version of the Eagles. “Their quarterback is back, and they have a running back that is really running well,” pointed out Moffatt. “You always expect to see that at Lindale. Their offensive line is playing well. They are scoring a lot of points. Defensively, Lindale is playing with great effort. Their special teams are really good as well.”
In recent years, the visiting team has had more success than the home team in the matchups between the Vandals and the Eagles, however, Van won the matchup at home last season.
While his team will be motivated to play well at Lindale Friday night, Moffatt is aware that a number of his varsity players have not experienced the significance of the rivalry against the Eagles until now.
“I am not concerned about how our team is going to respond to the atmosphere of this game Friday night, but then again, maybe,” said Moffatt. “The message to our team is just go out and play and execute at a high level. This is going to be an emotional game. It will be important for us to make sure that we are in control of our emotions throughout the game. I told our team that your emotions don’t control you. You control your emotions.”
Van’s junior high teams will be playing at Lindale Thursday, Sept. 11, while the Vandal freshmen and junior varsity teams will be hosting Lindale on the same night.
For results of the Van/Lindale varsity football game Sept. 12, and a preview of Van’s road trip to Sunnyvale Friday, Sept. 19, check out www.vanzandtnews.com.