Vandals Get Back On Track, Score 35 Unanswered In Win
VAN—Looking to close out their non-district schedule on a positive note, the Van Vandals rallied early and ran away late to post a 35-14 victory over the Spring Hill Panthers at the new Van Memorial Stadium Friday night.
Coach Brady Pennington’s Vandals broke a two-game losing streak to finish non-district action with a 3-2 mark.
They will enjoy an open date before beginning defense of their District 14-3A championship when they return to action Friday, October 9 as they will take on the Kemp Yellowjackets in the district opener at Kemp in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Against Spring Hill, the Vandals found a way to win despite suffering four turnovers, a blocked punt and a 14-0 first quarter deficit.
"This was a huge win for us," pointed out Pennington. "The kids did not panic when we were down 14-0. I am just so proud of everybody. We made some incredible defensive adjustments. Our defense was outstanding in the game."
Vandal quarterback Tory Parsons, in his first varsity start, staked his claim to become the starting signal caller for the district opener as he accounted for 246 of Van’s 283 total yards of offense.
The senior QB finished the contest with 164 yards rushing on 24 carries and one touchdown in addition to completing nine out of 17 passes for 82 yards and one TD.
"Tory came a million miles from his first performance against Mabank," said Pennington. "His performance against Spring Hill gives our offense lots of confidence heading into district. This was one of biggest wins since I have been the head coach at Van."
Van’s defense forced two Panther turnovers and registered four QB sacks as they held Spring Hill scoreless during the final three quarters of action.
The Vandals appeared to have seized the early momentum against Spring Hill as a perfectly executed short onside kick was recovered by Joseph Gable at the Panther 41.
Three plays later, the initial Vandal drive ended in a turnover as a fumble by Parsons was recovered by Spring Hill defensive end Jonathan McCutcheon at the Panther 48.
Four plays later, Spring Hill turned the ball over as a fumble by tailback Ashton Everett was recovered by Vandal strong safety Cody Daniels at the Van 46.
The fumble fest continued two plays later as Vandal reserve QB Michael Gates lost the handle with Spring Hill defensive tackle Nathan Miller falling on the football at the Vandal 45.
This time, Spring Hill took full advantage of the Vandal turnover as they moved 45 yards in six plays to take the lead.
Panther QB Dylan Brown connected with wide receiver Tyler Zapata on a 37-yard TD pass play to end the march. Cody Walker added the extra point to give the Panthers a 7-0 advantage with 5:27 to play in the first quarter.
The Vandals faced fourth down and two at the Panther 38 and decided to punt.
Gates’ punt pinned the Panthers at their own 2-yard line.
It only took the Panthers two plays to move 98 yards and extend their lead.
Panther TB Nathan Griffin stunned the Vandal defense with a 64-yard TD run. Walker added the extra point to give Spring Hill a 14-0 lead with 2:20 remaining in the first quarter. Prior to Griffin’s TD run, Brown connected with running back Tyler Johnson on a 34-yard pass completion.
The Vandals showed no signs of panic and responded with a 49-yard scoring drive in four plays.
Parsons ended the march by connecting with WR Michael Terry (four receptions, 52 yards) on a 31-yard TD pass play. Brad Bogue added the extra point to cut the Vandal deficit to 14-7 with 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The drive opened with a 14-yard pass completion from Parsons to WR Daniels.
Following a Spring Hill punt, the Vandals threatened to score on their next series but on second down and 25 at the Panther 42, a short pass completion from Parsons to Terry resulted in a fumble by Terry with Panther safety Blake Calderea recovering the ball at the Spring Hill 39.
A 12-yard punt by the Panthers gave the Vandals excellent field position at the Van 49.
Five plays later, on fourth down and four at the Panther 33, another Vandal scoring threat came to an end as Parsons pass to Terry in the end zone was incomplete.
After another Panther punt, the Vandals put together a scoring drive that gave them a lead that they would not give up for the rest of the evening.
Van moved 57 yards in five plays that ended with a 3-yard TD run by Parsons.
After timeouts by both sides, the Vandals decided to go for the go-ahead two-point conversion which was scored by Parsons on a running play to give Van a 15-14 advantage with 58 seconds to play in the second quarter. A key play in the scoring drive was a 35-yard run by Parsons.
"I made the decision to go for two in that situation because I was not overly confident about our kicking the extra point," recalled the Vandal head coach. "We just decided to roll the dice. Spring Hill had not been stopping our quarterback sweep up to that point and we ran it again to get the two-point conversion. Being successful on the two-point conversion and holding a one-point lead at the start of the second half really put pressure on Spring Hill."
Van received the second half kickoff and was forced to punt early in the possession.
A 13-yard punt gave the Panthers excellent field position at the Vandal 45.
Six plays later, the Panthers faced fourth down and eight at the Vandal 29 but the pass play from Brown to split end Dylan Dozier was incomplete to give the ball back to Van.
Van moved from its own 29 to the Panther 49 in eight plays including a 15-yard pass completion from Parsons to Terry.
On fourth down and 14, the Vandal punt was blocked and recovered by Spring Hill at the Vandal 31.
Van’s defense again came through as they sacked Brown for a five-yard loss on fourth down and 24 at the Vandal 45
A 12-yard run by Parsons gave the Vandals a first down at the Spring Hill 40 but three plays later, the Vandals gave the ball back to the Panthers as Gates’ pass was intercepted by Panther cornerback Ryan Lacy and returned to the Panther 30.
Spring Hill moved as deep as the Vandal 45 early in the fourth quarter before deciding to punt on fourth down and 11.
Van began to pull away from the Panthers as they began its next series at its own 24 with 8:24 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Vandals moved 76 yards on nine consecutive running plays to extend their lead.
Terry ended the march with a 13-yard TD run. Bogue added the extra point to give the Vandals a 22-14 lead with 3:50 remaining. Parsons carried the ball on seven plays in the drive including gains of 22 and 10 yards.
Van’s defense refused to budge on the next Spring Hill possession as the Panthers were stopped on fourth down and seven at their own 23 as Brown’s pass to Calderea was incomplete.
After a 22-yard run by Terry, Gates ended the short drive on the next play with a 1-yard TD run. Bogue added the extra point to give Van a 29-14 lead with 2:39 to play.
Spring Hill moved from its own 20 to the Vandal 14 in seven plays, all passing, including completions from Brown covering 29 yards to Dozier, 18 yards to Lacy and 15 yards to Zapata.
On second down and nine at the Vandal 14, Van’s defense got on the scoreboard as Brown’s pass was intercepted and returned 95 yards for a TD by Daniels giving the Vandals a 35-14 advantage with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. The extra point attempt was wide right.
Spring Hill’s final possession ended at the Vandal 9-yard line after a 52-yard scramble by Brown but the final play of the game was an incomplete pass from Brown to Lacy.
Several individual performances against Spring Hill were recognized by Pennington and they included the following:
Defensive end Corey Fuller (11 overall tackles, two solo tackles, five tackles for losses, three QB sacks and three QB pressures); noseguard Jacoby Alexander (12 overall tackles, two solo tackles, six tackles for losses, three QB sacks, three QB pressures and one caused fumble); strong safety Cody Daniels, nine tackles, one fumble recovery and one interception; linebacker Dalton Santos, 12 tackles; offensive linemen Clay Hendon, Santons and Devon Pickard; cornerback Jared Carter, nine tackles; RB T