Gibson, Van-Far defeat North Callaway 28-14 for first time since 2003

Lucas Gibson is in his second season as the Van-Far football coach.

Van-Far vs North Callaway Photo Gallery

He graduated in 2000 having earned all-state honors but never beating North Callaway. On Friday, his son and the rest of the Indians defeated the Eastern Missouri Conference foe Thunderbirds 28-14 for their first victory in the series since 2003. Gage Gibson finished with 203 offensive yards, including 138 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.

Lucas Gibson said that, while he didn’t beat the Thunderbirds (2-4, 1-3 EMO), he’s glad his son and his teammates could accomplish the feat this season.

“It’s amazing because I played here, and I don’t remember beating them,” Gibson said. “We’re learning the system put in, and they’re starting to execute now. A lot of them are sophomores still. It all starts up front, and that is where a lot of the sophomores are.”

Gage Gibson was all smiles as he and his teammates posed for a group photo after the game to mark the historic win. He said the Indians (2-4, 1-4 EMO) were especially excited for this week.

“We were determined coming into the week,” Gibson said. “We’ve been trying to change things around all season long. We’ve been able to play good first halves but not be able to finish it out. I think that’s because we’re pretty young, but we’re finding ways to win and play hard all the way through.”

Gibson had a dangerous dynamic working with quarterback and fellow all-conference and all-district player Nikos Connaway, who had 126 offensive yards and two touchdowns. Gibson caught a 48-yard touchdown from Connaway for the game’s first touchdown in the fourth quarter and then snagged a 17-yard pass down the sideline in the second quarter to set up a Connaway eight-yard touchdown run for a 20-6 Van-Far lead.

The Indians took firm control with a 28-6 lead in the fourth quarter after Gibson ran up the middle 25 yards for his second touchdown. The Thunderbirds struggled to bottle up and keep up with Gibson whenever he was in open space.

“We knew we would have a bit of a speed advantage to start with anyways, and Nikos is a great quarterback that has great instincts, just like he does on the basketball floor,” Gibson said. “We had good blocks outside all night long, we were able to stretch the edge and push it outside.”

Lucas Gibson said Connaway and Gibson have great ability when in the open field and that attribute applies to other players on the team. Gaven Gaston, for instance, returned a kick 62 yards in the first quarter on the play right after North Callaway scored its first touchdown and tied the game at 6.

“We felt like we were faster than them so that’s why we tried to get the edge a little more this week,” Gibson said.

The Thunderbirds ran for 153 yards but were always playing catchup after committing many penalties that stalled drives. Gibson said the play from his defensive line, including Evan Utterback on the end, played a part in keeping the North Callaway backfield under control.

“Our ends played really well,” Gibson said. “They couldn’t stop Evan Utterback so they just held him. He’s tough, and he just keeps coming.” I don’t think we did a good job tackling

Gibson said Van-Far has experience having a multiple-possession lead going into halftime as it did with South Callaway in Week 1. He said the Indians proved to different from the team in Week 1 and believed fatigue from the excessive heat that day was a factor.

North Callaway switched quarterbacks in the second half, completing some passes and leading to another touchdown drive, but ultimately finished with three interceptions when they took more shots down the field, with Connaway and Gibson swooping for some picks. The Thunderbirds couldn’t convert on necessary fourth downs either.

“They were trying to go deep on us,” Gibson said. “You can pin your ears back and get after him.”

Van-Far had a signature win last season against Montgomery County to prevent a second straight winless season last year. Its drought-quelling victory against North Callaway gives the Indians its most wins during a season in five years, but Gibson said Van-Far needs to stay hungry as it hosts district foe Crystal City (5-1), who received votes in the latest state poll, at 7 p.m. Friday.

“I don’t think we did a good job tackling,” Gibson said. “There’s plenty of room for improvement. We can’t turn the ball over either.”

Lady Indians win Pink Out game 11-1 vs Marion County

Van-Far softball made people feel better on Monday night and then made itself feel better.

In the Lady Indians’ Pink Out game against Marion County, they won 11-1 in five innings, tallying 15 hits, nine stolen bases and five doubles. The victory is Van-Far’s second win against Marion County (4-10) this season.

Katelyn Sutton led the offense by going 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, two RBI and a double, Reeve Woodall went 3-for-4 with two doubles, Kenya Jones finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, and Elliott Utterback went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and a RBI.

Woodall pitched five innings with four walks, three hits, three strikeouts and one run. 

The Lady Indians (3-14) widened the distance after a five-run second inning, highlighted by a Jones RBI double and RBI singles by Utterback, Sutton and Katelyn Hutcheson.

Van-Far (0-7 EMO) played at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wright City (8-10, 2-6 EMO) on Tuesday and then Clopton (4-13-1, 1-6 EMO) at 5 p.m. Thursday.