SHREVEPORT, La. – If it’s possible for a high school football game to have the feel of a postseason bowl game, the 2021 Battle on the Border certainly fit that bill.
Even better, the Ruston High School Bearcats (1-1) bested the Oxford High School Chargers (0-1) in a completely dominant performance for four quarters to get a 28-14 win.
“(Oxford) has a very good football program,” Bearcat head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “You can see what they’ve been able to do over the last few years. They’ve won a state championship two years ago and was state runner-up last year. I was incredibly pleased overall. We played very well defensively and kept them contained for the night. They tried a few shots deep on us, but overall, we executed well against a good football team.”
There was no point in the game where Ruston was not in control, despite a few glimmers of offense from the Chargers. The Bearcats scored four rushing touchdowns on the night led by junior Dyson Fields who put up 196 yards on 28 rushes with three touchdowns. His final touchdown as from two yards out to put the Bearcats up 28-7 in the fourth quarter.
Injuries seemed to have depleted the Bearcats at the fullback position before Jadon Mayfield stepped in today to score a rushing touchdown and tallying some key blocks for the Ruston rushing game.
“Jadon was a good fullback today,” Baugh said. “He played the position in junior high and as a freshman. We have to be careful playing him on offense because we really need him on defense, too. But it shows that when we have injuries to deal with that we want the kids to have the chance to step in, and he did that today.”
The Bearcats took a 7-0 lead into the halftime locker room after completely stifling any offense by the Chargers. Oxford finished with only one yard rushing in the first half.
The defense totaled 37 tackles and four sacks on the night. Sophomore Geordan Guidry notched two sacks on the night despite not playing last week against Neville.
“Guidry made some big plays,” Baugh said. “He was out last week and we did not want to rush him back. He has a chance to be a really good football player for us, and he showed that this afternoon.”
After the game, the team was treated to a gift bag from the organizers of the Battle on the Border as well as a trophy and dinner. Coach Baugh added that while the team was thrilled with being able to play in Independence Stadium on Saturday, the team is looking forward to being at James Field at Garrett Stadium for 2021 Homecoming on Friday, Sept. 17.
“Today was as close of a bowl game as you could ask for high school,” Baugh said. “It was a really good experience for the team, but I know that the kids, students, the coaches and the communhity are ready for us to be back at our home stadium. It’s homecoming night, so hopefully we’ll have a big crowd to come watch the Bearcats play.”
Photo Credit: Channing Ewing
