Van-Far thinks fullback Brandon Eoff ran the ball better than last week but needs more parts to fall in place.
The Indians’ passing game was mostly absent Friday in their 19-6 loss at …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous website, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
Van-Far thinks fullback Brandon Eoff ran the ball better than last week but needs more parts to fall in place.
The Indians’ passing game was mostly absent Friday in their 19-6 loss at Russellville, which was compounded by Van-Far falling behind early for the second straight week. Eoff ran for 203 yards on 29 carries.
Head coach Lucas Gibson said Russellville didn’t give quarterback Nikos Connaway much room to get in a passing groove.
“Their pass rush was good. I’ll give them that,” Gibson said. “They had great athletes on defense.”
Van-Far fumbled a snap to give Russellville a short field and eventually a 6-0 lead that turned into a 13-0 halftime advantage.
As soon as the second half started, Gibson said his team played much better as evidenced by Van-Far scoring on the opening drive on a 20-yard run by Gage Gibson, who took an option pitch from Connaway to make it 13-6. He felt, however, the Indians could have made it a closer if they cashed in on some more opportunities.
“Most of it was just us making little mistakes at the wrong times,” Gibson said. “We had it inside the red zone or real close to the red zone at least three times where we should’ve scored – silly mistakes like we jumped offsides once that we need to clean up some more.”
Russellville took a two-possession lead with four minutes left in the game but were within striking distance most of the game because of Van-Far’s better performance on defense, Gibson said.
“We knew they were going to run the veer,” Gibson said. “We just tried collapsing it down. I can’t reiterate how tough they played for their age and how they fought back.”
Van-Far (0-2) returns to its Eastern Missouri Conference schedule Friday against Montgomery County (0-2) – who lost 46-13 at home against Monroe City in Week 2 – but the next game is even more special as it will be the first game on the Indians’ new field. The previous home opener date against South Callaway in Week 1 had to be moved to Mokane because the field wasn’t ready. After the power is put in this week, Gibson said the lights in Friday Night Lights will be ready.
