Malik and Tyson Douglas weren’t sure if they would ever play for Van-Far.

Van-Far vs Montgomery County Photo Gallery

The senior twins are sons of alumnus and Navy officer Nay Douglas and were each strong in the backfield on Friday in Van-Far’s 34-7 Homecoming victory over Eastern Missouri Conference foe Montgomery County (0-5). The Class 1 No. 6 Indians (5-0) led 28 at halftime, having four different players reach the endzone.

Tyson Douglas ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and had one of them in the first half along with brother Malik’s touchdown. Malik Douglas, who ran for 73 yards on 12 carries, stood out on Van-Far’s first scoring drive that was capped by his eight-yard run while Tyson scored from 21 yards and then nine yards.

“I tried to keep up with (Malik) in the first half,” Tyson Douglas said with a chuckle. “It was definitely my team. They pushed me through and blocked for me and kept me up. I get upset a lot. I’m really competitive so I was getting upset.”

The twins said they don’t quite have a competitive dynamic with each other as it is supportive instead. When one is struggling or isn’t 100 percent healthy, the other picks up the slack. That was the case when head coach Lucas Gibson said Malik had some issues pop again in the second half so Tyson took charge.

“We try to work off each other, being brothers and all,” Malik Douglas said. “We try to pick up on each other when we can and help each other out.”

Homecoming had a special meaning to the Douglas family since the twins’ father has been stationed at various places in the country and the world. The twins said they went to high school in California and even lived in Japan for four years. They eventually moved close enough that they were able to play for Fulton last year before transferring to Van-Far their junior years.

The twins said they visited the area when they were around six- to eight-years old so they were familiar with where their father went to school. When they became Indians, it didn’t feel like much of a transition even though they saw Van-Far as “some faraway place” that they always wanted to represent on the field.

“When we came here, we didn’t feel like strangers at all,” Tyson Douglas said. “We actually came and visited a couple times when we were younger. We’ve known this town our whole lives but didn’t really know the people.”

“Never once in my life did I think we’d be playing with these guys,” Malik Douglas said. “It’s really something special to be playing down here.”

Gibson said the wind played a huge factor in Van-Far’s focus on running the ball against Montgomery but also having both Douglas twins in the backfield further explained the game plan. He said Van-Far hadn’t had both Malik and Tyson available in the backfield since Week 1.

“They’re just a dual threat,” Gibson said. “They’re twins for a reason. They’re tough runners and really strong kids.”

Evan Utterback and Pacey Reading made key plays on the defensive line as Utterback finished with six tackles and one sack and Reading had 5.5 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery. Utterback caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Reece Culwell in the first half.

Gaven Gaston had the longest touchdown for the Indians on a 74-yard interception return in the first half. The score gave Van-Far a 14-0 lead near the start of the second quarter.

“That was huge because we were backed up (in our own territory),” Gibson said. “They were trying to get to the sticks, ran hooks and he just read it.”

Malik Douglas ran for quite a few long first downs in the first half but could’ve had two more and even a touchdown if not for holding penalties that nullified the gains.

“We’ve just got to learn to reset,” Malik Douglas said. “That’s all we can really do. Stuff happens sometimes, whether it’s holding calls or false starts. If I did it one time, I can do it again.”

Gibson focused on several mistakes Van-Far made during the game, including the penalties, before congratulating his kids on staying undefeated. He said the Indians will need to focus more on perfection due to their opponent next week. In a showdown between state-ranked and undefeated Eastern Missouri Conference foes, Van-Far hosts Bowling Green (5-0).

“We just can’t make mistakes against Bowling Green and have to try not let them get going,” Gibson said. “We have to be more disciplined and get back to fundamentals.”