Van-Far sent two runners to Kingdom City on Saturday.

Erin Childs competed in the girls 5,000 meters at the North Callaway Cross Country Invite, and Richard Hayden was in the boys 5,000 meters. Childs finished 15th out of 28 with a time of 24:22.91, and Hayden was 31st out of 34 runners with a time of 23:54.09.

California’s Kenzleigh Goans had the top time in the girls race at 20:30.24, and St. Charles’ Nate Maples won the boys race with a time of 16:14.70.

Softball

Lady Indians tally bases galore in 17-5 win at Marion County

Van-Far didn’t have any issues taking the extra base Tuesday night.

The Lady Indians won 17-5 in five innings at Marion County after finishing with nine extra base hits and seven stolen bases. Dalana Gay drove in five runs while going 3-for-5 with a double, Layla Ogden went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two doubles, McKenna Engh-Hoffman hit her first home run of the season while also hitting a double and stealing a base,  Carmen Wilburn had three RBI and a triple, and Madelynn Caldwell finished 3-for-4 with two stolen bases.

Gay had a two-RBI double in the first inning before Van-Far cut loose with three runs in the second inning and seven in the third inning. Four of the Lady Indians’ doubles were recorded in the third inning, with Reeve Woodall, Ogden and Hailey Lowry all driving in runs while taking the extra base for a 12-1 lead.

Mara Jensen struck out six and allowed five unearned runs on three hits in five innings.

Van-Far (5-13, 1-7) hosted Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wright City on Tuesday before it welcomes another conference foe Clopton (11-4, 7-1 EMO) on Thursday.

Football

Van-Far line troubles difference in 36-16 loss at North Callaway

Van-Far didn’t have its best game at North Callaway.

In fact, head coach Lucas Gibson said the Indians’ 36-16 loss was their worst performance of the year but with correctable issues.

Van-Far finished with 210 yards on the ground on 45 carries. Nikos Connaway led the team with 89 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and Brandon Eoff gained 53 yards on 13 carries.

North Callaway quarterback Braydn O’Neal threw for 208 yards and five touchdowns on 12-for-14 passing. Gibson said two of the team’s lineman were unavailable Friday because of a wedding in Georgia so that affected Van-Far’s performance on offense and also when it came to pressuring O’Neal.

“They did a good job blocking us,” Gibson said. “He had a long time in the pocket to pick where he wanted to go.”

The second quarter was when the pressure subsided, Gibson said, as the first quarter was when the Indians could not only get to O’Neal but also force a turnover. Gage Gibson forced a fumble that was recovered by Tyrece Cole on North Callaway’s first drive. Van-Far didn’t score off the turnover but tied the game at 8 in the first quarter after a Nikos Connaway ran it from eight yards.

The Thunderbirds’ offense took flight, but Van-Far stayed grounded, completing one pass for 24 yards. The Indians scored its next touchdown on a Connaway five-yard run, but that was in the fourth quarter after O’Neal had thrown his fourth touchdown to Sergio Moreno.

Gibson said the team was affected by costly penalties, like a chop block erased a long run by Connaway and a pass interference on fourth down gave a North Callaway offensive drive new life, but the offense wasn’t at its best. Still, Van-Far had a closer result than last year’s 56-0 loss against the Thunderbirds.

“We plugged some guys in this week and tried to roll with it,” Gibson said. “We definitely struggled on offense a little bit. We executed some plays, and we didn’t turn the ball over. Nikos did throw one pick, but other than that, we didn’t turn the ball over. I think, last year, we turned the ball over a lot more. Taking care of the ball, that makes a lot of difference.”

Van-Far (1-5, 1-4 EMO) has a matchup this week at district for Crystal City (5-1), who lost 38-36 at undefeated Russellville in Week 6.