Vandals Open Defense Of District Title In Kemp

After enjoying an open date in their schedule last week, it is back to work for the Van Vandals.

The Vandals will open defense of their District 14-3A championship when they travel to Kemp for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday against the Kemp Yellowjackets.

Van finished its non-district schedule with a 3-2 mark after easing past the Spring Hill Panthers 35-14 on September 25 in Van.

The Vandals will be seeking their first win away from home this season as they are currently 3-0 at home and 0-2 on the road.

Kemp will enter the district opener on a two-game winning streak as they completed its non-district slate with a 2-2 mark.

The Yellowjackets scored over 50 points in each of their victories over Rains and Palmer.

"Kemp is a very impressive football team," emphasized Vandal head coach Brady Pennington. "They have lots of speed. Offensively, they run a lot of double-slot and wing-T and will use some shotgun. Their quarterback is back from last year and he is a real good football player. Defensively, they will show a ’50.’ Their defense is very physical and they have a very aggressive linebacker that we will need to be on the lookout for in this game."

Pennington said that he was pleased with what his team was able to accomplish during their open date last week.

"We were able to get some rest for everybody," recalled the Vandal head coach. "We took last Monday off and then we worked on ourselves Tuesday and Wednesday. We began our preparations for Kemp last Thursday and we were able to give our coaches the weekend off."

There was some good news and bad news concerning injuries for the Vandals.

Junior Michael Gates, who saw playing time at wide receiver and quarterback this season, was battling a shoulder injury all season and has decided to go ahead with surgery which will sideline him for the remainder of the season, according to Pennington.

The good news is that four other players who have missed significant playing time during the non-district schedule are scheduled to return to action against Kemp Friday night.

The group includes starting senior running back Chase Rabe, who suffered a broken bone in his foot against Palestine on September 11.

Others scheduled to come back this week include senior running back Matt Broadbent, senior wide receiver Seth Potter and senior WR Tye Hughes.

With the absence of Gates, Hughes is also now serving as the backup QB for the Vandals behind senior Tory Parsons.

"Tye has not played quarterback since junior high," recalled Pennington.

Parsons, in his first varsity start against Spring Hill, registered 246 yards of total offense (164 rushing and 82 passing).

In addition to the Van/Kemp matchup, other District 14-3A openers Friday night will feature the 4-1 Canton Eagles visiting the 4-1 Wills Point Tigers in a battle of Van Zandt County rivals.

The Eustace Bulldogs, 1-4, will host the 3-2 Mineola Yellowjackets, who have dropped their last two contests.

"I really do not see anybody dominating this district and I am anticipating an incredible race," pointed out Pennington. "There will be big games played every Friday night in this district."