Van-Far trailed Russellville early in Friday’s game, but it was tough to cover Gaven Gaston all that time.

Gaston finished with 183 receiving yards on five catches and four touchdowns in a 66-20 victory for Class 1 No. 8 Van-Far. Gaston also returned a kick 75 yards for a touchdown to begin the second half and account for some of the team’s 689 all-purpose yards.

Van-Far was down 12-8 in the first quarter but managed to jump ahead 22-12 by the end of the quarter. The Indians increased it to 36-12 at halftime after head coach Lucas Gibson said they moved past some early turnovers.

“They definitely tried to shut down our run because we had about 400 yards last week,” Gibson said. “We had to go with something different.”

When a defense is so focused on run, it’s easier for certain players to find the cracks. That is exactly what Gaston did, Gibson said, as Russellville struggled to cover him one-on-one.

Even with the entire special teams until gunning for Gaston, he couldn’t be stopped as shown by his kickoff return for a touchdown. This followed Russellville making a goal line stand to end the first half.

“He’s a fast kid and very athletic,” Gibson said. “He runs like a 4.4 40 (yard dash). At halftime, we needed to come out and respond and then they kicked it to Gaven and he returned it for a touchdown. That really kickstarted us in the second half.”

Malik Douglas returned a kick 90 yards for a touchdown and had a rushing touchdown to go with 115 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Cayden Douglas finished with 115 yards on five carries, and Ty Evans added a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Reece Culwell was 10-for-14 for 212 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Van-Far opens its Eastern Missouri Conference schedule at 7 p.m. Friday at home against district foe Louisiana (0-2), who lost 42-16 at Crystal City last week.

“I’m just excited to get back home to play a conference opponent and see where we’re at,” Gibson said.