Van-Far was finally able to exhale late Friday night.

The Class 1 No. 8 Indians didn’t lead until five minutes left in the game at Eastern Missouri Conference rival Mark Twain but won 28-26 for their second straight Farmers Cup victory — the first time they hold the cup in consecutive years since it was created in 2014. Gaven Gaston returned an interception 25-30 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 26 before Tyson Douglas ran in a two-point conversion.

“My heart is finally slowing down,” head coach Lucas Gibson joked soon after Van-Far’s victory.

Gibson said Mark Twain (1-3, 0-1 EMO) ran the ball more frequently and more effectively then he was expecting to help the Tigers take a 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 20-14 halftime lead. He said turnovers were about even on both sides, with both teams throwing interceptions.

Van-Far (4-0, 2-0 EMO) stayed close and tied the game at 20 on its first drive of the second half following a lost Mark Twain fumble on a kickoff. Tyson Douglas ran for a touchdown before Mark Twain took a 26-20 lead. That is where the most important interception game happened.

“Gaven was being an athlete,” Gibson said. “We didn’t get pressure on the quarterback. That was our plan: to get pressure on the quarterback to make him mess up.”

Pacey Reading and Jackson Fischer each had good defensive games on the defensive line with six and three tackles, respectively, Gibson said. Reading even had an interception in the fourth quarter, making him the second Reading to come away with a turnover since freshman Bryce Reading recovered the fumble forced out by Kashton Rhodes at the start of the second half. Douglas had six tackles on defense, and Isaac Wardlow had five tackles.

Gibson gives credit to a first-down catch by Reading on the team’s second drive that gave Van-Far the push it needed on offense. Douglas also had a tough 30-yard touchdown run while breaking several tackles through the Mark Twain defense, finishing with 120 yards on 12 carries. Quarterback Reece Culwell ran for 66 yards on 10 carries, Gaston caught four passes for 61 yards.

“Pacey had a big first down that got us going there,” Gibson said. “We weren’t able to move the ball on the first drive or two.”

Van-Far didn’t have all of its injured back from last week including Malik Douglas, who was limited to some defense in the fourth quarter. Middle linebacker Dalton Hays left the game before halftime with an injury. Gibson hopes to be mostly healthy before hosting conference foe Montgomery County (0-4, 0-2 EMO) at 7 p.m. Friday since the Indians want redemptions for a 24-22 loss to the Wildcats last season.

“It was a great team effort because there were some guys that went down,” Gibson said. “I’m just really proud of them fighting because there was adversity in that game, but they just kept battling.”