Garrett Moseley, Van See Season End Against Kennedale

FRISCO-- Garrett Moseley wasn't going to sit this one out.

Despite suffering a torn meniscus prior to the game, Moseley played on Friday against Kennedale. Unfortunately for Van, the Wildcats would still go on to win, 42-28, to move on to the regional semifinals.

Vandals coach Jared Moffatt said Moseley hardly practiced this week and had a fairly severe limp for the past three days.

It didn't show Friday.

Even hobbled, Moseley proved to be the Vandals' best player. He finished with 257 total yards and three touchdowns. He said though he played most of the game in pain, he simply couldn't envision himself sitting out.

"You gotta go balls to the wall," Moseley said. "It could be your last game. I wasn't going to stand on the sidelines. I'm a winner. Even though we didn't come out with a win, I'm trying to win every game."

The Vandals came close. They scored more points than any team has on the Wildcats all season. They also held Kennedale to its second-lowest point total all year.

In the third quarter, all the momentum was trending toward Van.

After a defensive lapse allowed Evan Jowers to score on a 53-yard run, Van's offense went back to work. Several times Moseley came up with big plays on third down to keep the drive moving. He capped it off with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Robinson, the answer Van needed to Kennedale's quick score.

But the Vandals weren't done.

They went for the onside kick and recovered, setting up a chance for them to make it a one possession game. They wouldn't waste any time. On the first play of the drive, they ran an unconventional play.

Moseley took the snap but pitched to Gus Brewer on a reverse. Brewer then saw Robinson wide open downfield and threw to him for a 50-yard touchdown.

"It was kind of one of those things that it was a miracle it worked," Moffatt said. "It was a bad play from the beginning. Somehow the defensive end was upfield. Garrett tossed him the ball and somehow he got it off. That's kind of how these guys played today. They battled, stayed in it and pulled some plays out of their tails. I'm very proud of our kids and the effort that they showed today."

Even after a field goal and another touchdown from Kennedale made it a two-possession game, Van refused to give up.

Moseley again led the team on a scoring drive, twice converting on fourth down. The last fourth down conversion ended up being a three-yard touchdown pass to Gus Brewer to cut the lead to 35-28 with just over two minutes left.

However, Jaden Knowles broke free for a 46-yard touchdown on the first play of Kennedale's ensuing drive, putting the game out of reach.

It was the end of an era. Moseley, who passed for the second-most yards in a single season in Van history last season, finished with 2,488 passing yards in 2017. That ranks as the third-best season from a Van player.

Moseley said he will remember the sense of community surrounding this team the most.

"It's just a great feeling when you score a touchdown and you've got your whole town out there cheering for you," he said. "The coaching staff will always have a huge impact on my life. I should have said this first, but, my teammates, I love every single one of them. Everybody went hard today. That's the hardest we played all year."

Although Moseley was modest about his impact on the program, Moffatt summed up how valuable he has been to the Vandals.

"He's one of the fiercest competitors I've ever seen," Moffatt said. "Very few people want to win more and hate to lose worse than he does. What ca you say about the guy? The way he performed today, the runs he made, just an absolute great football player.

"Next year, somebody else is going to play quarterback for the Vandals, but we're not gonna replace Garrett Moseley."

Kennedale 42, Van 28

Kennedale     3    14   10   15    --    42
Van      0    7    14    7    --    28

First quarter
KEN--Kevin Tiero 21 field goal, 6:54.
Second quarter
VAN—Garrett Moseley 3 run (Calen McKinney kick),10:47.
KEN—Jaden Knowles 1 run (Tiero kick), 7:14.
KEN—DJ Kirven 21 run (Tiero kick), 1:32.
Third Quarter
KEN--Evan Jokers 53 run (Tiero kick), 11:01.
VAN--Ethan Robinson 23 catch from Moseley (McKinney kick), 7:56.
VAN--Robinson 50 catch from Gus Brewer (McKinney kick), 7:40.
KEN--Tiero 31 field goal, 3:36.
Fourth quarter
KEN--Kirven 2 run (Larry Brooks 2-point), 9:47.
VAN--Gus Brewer 3 catch from Moseley (McKinney kick), 2:39
KEN--Knowles 46 run (Tiero kick), 2:29.

                                           KEN                    VAN
First Downs                             13                       14
Total Yards                            415                    315
Rushes-Yards                   48-358                 22-68
Passing Yards                        57                      247
Comp.-Att.-Int.                3-7-0                    18-43-1
Punts-Avg.                         3-32.7               5-37.8
Fumbles-Lost                          1-1                    1-0
Penalties-Yards                     7-65                  5-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Kennedale, Jaden Knowles 22-157, Evan Jowers 9-116, DJ Kirven 9-89, David Roper 1-(-2), Team 2-(-2). Van, Garrett Moseley 16-60, Elijah Rankine 3-9, Davonte Johnson 2-14, Team 1-(-15). 
PASSING--Kennedale, Jowers 3-7-0--57. Van, Moseley 17-41-1--197, Gus Brewer 1-1-0--50, Liam Nelson 0-1-0--0.
RECEIVING--Kennedale, David Roper 1-34, Nathan Otts 1-22, Jaden Smith 1-1. Van, Gus Brewer 10-120, Elijah Rankine 5-49, Ethan Robinson 3-78.