Challenging schedule awaits Van in 2023

Published 8:35 am Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Entering his 14th season at Van, Jared Moffatt is one of the longest tenured head football coaches in East Texas.

“I’m getting old is what that means,” Moffatt said.

The Vandals have reached the playoffs in 12 of Moffatt’s 13 seasons at the helm, going to the postseason again in 2022 with a 6-5 record.

Van will look to navigate a challenging schedule in search of another playoff berth.

“Our schedule is usually tough, and this one is too,” Moffatt said. “The non-district schedule has a lot of really good football teams on it. You better find a way to win some close games or you’re going to look up and have a tough year. We know what’s in front of us. We also know the kids in Van play extremely hard. They do every game, every season, and we’ve got some great coaches here in Van, so we’re excited about the season.”

Moffatt was joined by senior safety Cannon Rainey and junior quarterback Jaxon Moffatt at a fall sports media day at the CHRISTUS Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute on July 24 to talk about the upcoming season.

“The expectations are to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Rainey said. “Have a better season than last year and just keep winning, keep doing good in district and hopefully make a playoff run.”

“I say we’ve got to play hard every single game,” Jaxon Moffatt said. “We’ve got a tough schedule this year. We play a lot of good talent. We’re going to have to execute really well and definitely throw and catch the ball better than we did last year.”

The Vandals open the season Friday at home against Class 5A Pine Tree. The rest of the non-district slate includes Chapel Hill and Lindale — ranked No. 3 and 15 in Class 4A Division I, respectively — and Paris. The district schedule includes Class 4A Division II No. 1 Carthage and Class 4A Division II No. 15 Center.