DAVID BARBER

Sports Correspondent

At the request of the Spring Hill Panthers, the pre-season football scrimmage between the Van Vandals and the Panthers has been moved from Spring Hill to Van’s Memorial Stadium Friday, Aug. 12, according to Vandal Head Football Coach Jared Moffatt.

The scrimmage between the Vandals and the Panthers will be the first opportunity during the pre-season schedule for either team to block and tackle against another opponent other than themselves.

The Vandals put the pads on for the first time in 2022 Aug. 5 as they conducted their annual Red/White Inter Squad Scrimmage at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

“The Red/White scrimmage for us went really well,” summarized Moffatt. “It was the first day in pads which allowed us to go full speed. I saw some good things defensively. We are looking hard at finding another starting cornerback to go along with Reed Parish. That is a question mark for us right now. Landon Smith at outside linebacker played well for us in the scrimmage. Christian Campuzano, the linebacker that moved in from Edgewood last spring, played well. He was the defensive MVP in their district last season. Cannon Rainey at free safety scrimmaged well. Both defensive ends, Logan Fattig and Colton Miller, did some good things for us.

“Offensively, we have a bunch of unproven players that need a lot of snaps,” continued Moffatt. “Our quarterback, Jaxon Moffatt, needs a million reps but it’s not just him. We have several players on offense that need full speed reps. Caden Rowe at outside receiver did a good job in the scrimmage. We still have a long way to go on offense and we have two weeks to get ready for our regular season opener at Pine Tree. We need to figure this out real fast with the schedule that we are playing. The scrimmage was a positive night and very productive for us.”

In preparations for their home scrimmage against Spring Hill Aug. 12, Moffatt emphasized that there will basically be no game-planning for a scrimmage opponent.

“We have not played Spring Hill in a number of years,” recalled Moffatt. “They have a new head coach this year. He was their defensive coordinator last year. They are installing an entirely new offense. I am not real familiar with their personnel. For us, this scrimmage is about evaluating our players. We want to see how they respond and react to the situation. We are looking forward to playing against a new opponent.”

The scrimmage against the Panthers will feature the game clock running near the end of the evening, according to Moffatt.

“This scrimmage is valuable, especially for our young offense,” said Moffatt. “They need the reps. At the same time, we also want to prevent injuries as much as we can. There is a risk/reward in this.”

The freshmen and junior varsity teams for the Vandals and the Panthers will scrimmage simultaneously at both ends of the field beginning at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12 with the varsity scrimmage scheduled to begin at approximately 7 p.m.

Prior to the home scrimmage against Spring Hill Aug. 12, the Vandals will conduct their annual Media Day at the stadium earlier in the day beginning at 7 a.m.

Van will close out its pre-season scrimmage schedule at Van’s Memorial Stadium Thursday, Aug. 18, against one of their Van Zandt County rivals, the Class 3A Grand Saline Indians.

The Vandals will open their 2022 regular season schedule against the Pine Tree Pirates in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, Aug. 26 at Longview.

Van will have its home opener Friday, Sept. 2, in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the highly regarded Chapel Hill Bulldogs.

District 8-4A, Division 2, play begins Friday, Sept. 23, when the Vandals host the Brownsboro Bears in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Van’s Memorial Stadium.

For results of the Aug. 12 Spring Hill scrimmage and a preview of Van’s final pre-season scrimmage at home against Grand Saline Aug. 18, check out www.vanzandtnews.com