VAN.PLAYOFFS.TXHSFB.IMAGES.8.jpg

MESQUITE — Van was presented a test in the Class 4A Division II area round against an opponent with a similar name and an identical record.

The Vandals passed the test, putting up 371 yards through the air, on the way to a 45-42 win over Van Alstyne on Friday night at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.

“The offense played really well,” Van head football coach Jared Moffatt said. “Easton Hinch made some unbelievable plays tonight. Caden Rowe did as well. Jaxon Moffatt threw the ball well. We had some guys make some plays. I tell these guys all of the time, if you want to win games, you’ve got to make plays. When you get to this point of the season, if you continue to play, it’s because your guys made some big plays, and we made some tonight.”

Jaxon Moffatt was 21 of 29 for 371 yards and five touchdowns, and he also added a touchdown on the ground. Caden Rowe made eight grabs for 173 yards and a touchdown. Easton Hinch had seven catches for 160 yards and three first-half touchdowns. Asher Hawkins added six receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown.

“It was incredible,” Hinch said. “I don’t think I ever had more than one touchdown in a game. Jaxon kept putting the ball on me, and I just kept making plays. My boys on the O-line played their butts off. Jaxon Moffatt played so good. Thanks to them.”

“It makes it really tough to guard both of us at the same time,” Rowe said.

“They stepped up big time,” Jaxon Moffatt said. “Easton Hinch had a ton of great catches. Caden Rowe had great catches. Everybody got involved tonight, and they played great. I am super proud of them. That was a crazy game. We are super excited to be going to the third round. That was a great football team. This is a great team win for us.”

Van picked up a first down on each of its first two plays from scrimmage and then had to punt. That was the last punt for the Vandals all night.

The Panthers capitalized with a 5-yard touchdown run by Michael Upchurch to take a 7-0 lead with 7:45 on the clock. Van came back as Moffatt connected with Hinch for a 26-yard touchdown on a highlight-reel grab in the end zone to tie the score at 7 with 5:00 left in the first quarter.

Van Alstyne scored on a 7-yard run by Brayden Miller to push the lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter. The second quarter was all Vandals, for the most part.

Moffatt found Hinch for a 17-yard touchdown to tie the score at 14 with 9:32 left in the half.

Following a Van Alstyne punt, Van moved down the field and scored on a 2-yard run by Jaxon Moffatt. The Panthers answered with a 60-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brady Carson to tie the score at 21 with 2:06 on the clock.

Moffatt and Hinch combined for another touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half from 26 yards out as Hinch made the grab through coverage, giving the Vandals a 28-21 halftime lead.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Carson darted 69 yards to the end zone to tie the score at 28. Van came right back with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Moffatt to Rowe, giving Van a 35-28 lead with 9:50 left in the third quarter. A 10-yard Carson touchdown run tied the score at 35 with 5:15 on the clock.

Van had a fourth-and-12 at the Van Alstyne 34 late in the third quarter when Moffatt and Hinch connected for a 26-yard gain to set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Moffatt to Hawkins to give the Vandals the 42-35 edge with 1:53 left in the third quarter.

With Van Alstyne wanting to tie and in Vandal territory, Carson ran the ball on the final play of the third quarter and left with an injury and never returned. He finished with 259 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, and he threw for 128 yards.

On fourth-and-9 from the Van 18, the Panthers went for it, and Miller’s pass was incomplete.

The Vandals took the ball into Panther territory and turned it into a 24-yard field goal by Aiden Moore to make the score 45-25 with 4:45 to play.

On fourth-and-16 from its own 19, Van Alstyne ran the ball, and Miller went 15 yards, being stopped just short of the first down. However, Van Alstyne’s Jaxon Skinner picked off a pass in the end zone with 2:44 on the clock. The Panthers got a 7-yard touchdown run from Miller with 49 seconds left to cut the score to 45-42. The Panthers then attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Van, allowing the Vandals to run out the rest of the clock.

Van once recovered four onside kicks as the kicking team in the third quarter at the same stadium in a playoff game in 2020.

“We just battled,” Van head football Coach Moffatt said. “It wasn’t pretty. We didn’t stop them very much. Their quarterback was unbelievable. They did a great job of calling plays. The quarterback ran all over us. We got just enough stops. The field goal Aiden Moore kicked was huge, the difference in the game. The defense makes a stop, then we turn the ball over. It was a bad dream. Most of this game felt like a bad dream.”

Miller had 25 yards rushing, 61 yards passing and 71 yards receiving for Van Alstyne (8-4).

Austin Moffatt added 102 yards on 26 carries for the Vandals.

Van (9-3) will face Sunnyvale, which defeated 2023 state champion Gilmer 27-17 on Thursday, in the Class 4A Division II Region II semifinals next week.

“This is a great team, an unselfish team,” Coach Moffatt said. “It’s a senior-heavy group. They love coming to work every day, and they love each other.

“Just the opportunity to keep playing is so huge. Selfishly, I don’t know if it’s the right word, but to get another week with my kids playing is pretty freaking special. Playing the day after Thanksgiving, in the third round, what more could you ask for? I hear the Harbaughs (NFL head coaches Jim and John) say it all the time, who’s got it better than us? I could maybe argue with them tonight. We feel pretty good about it.”