Van-Far was playing football against Westran for the first time on Friday and wanted to make a good first impression.

The 44-13 win at home was quite an impression and was a victory where the Indians were in control early. Van-Far led 14-0 after the first quarter and then 22-7 at halftime.

Van-Far hadn’t won its season opener since the 2018 season but felt good about its chances heading into this season. Head coach Lucas Gibson said the Indians demonstrated that with its approach early against Westran.

“We wanted to go on offense first and go down and score,” Gibson said. “We usually defer, but I think this year we’re going to take the ball. It gives our kids a little head start. On offense, you know what you’re doing. Get ahead and get a little confidence.”

Gibson said Van-Far recovered two onside kicks early in the game, including one right after the Indians scored a touchdown. He said this contributed to Van-Far building a lead so the kids didn’t have to stress as much later in the game.

The Indians’ offense didn’t have to worry about much with two new standouts in the backfield. Gibson said the Douglas twins – Malik and Tyson – each had productive games running the ball for Van-Far as Malik finished with 182 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns and Tyson had 133 yards on 13 carries and four touchdowns. They each transferred into Van-Far last year after being all-conference players for Fulton.

“Our offensive line did a great job tonight,” Gibson said. “Tyson and Malik Douglas had some big run, good runs and hard runs. They both had pretty good games.”

Gibson estimates Van-Far had 80-100 yards worth of penalties so that is the main area the team can improve in the future. Westran was able to score more easily because of that, but mostly, the Indians defense had it under control.

Jackson Fischer and Pacey Reading each had notable games on the defensive line, Gibson said, as Van-Far’s defensive game plan for Westran was executed well. Fischer and Reading each had 3.5 tackles, and Fischer was credited with two sacks and a deflection.

“We knew they were going to run some spread against us – two wide receivers a lot of times on each side,” Gibson said. “We just tried to get pressure on the quarterback. The defensive line did an awesome job tonight.”

Gibson said Van-Far just needs to avoid hurting itself when it plays at Russellville (1-0), who defeated Missouri Military Academy 53-0 last Friday, but lost at Van-Far 36-6 last season.