RUSTON, La. — Halfway through the 2021 season, the Ruston Bearcats (4-1) got some outstanding news on Monday morning: they are now ranked the 8th best team in all of Class 5A after a huge victory Friday night against St. Thomas More by a final score of 51-27.
“We’re basically one play away from being 5-0 on the year,” Bearcat head football coach Jerrod Baugh said. “The schedule that we have played is really something to say about this football team. I’m proud for them. It’s a good place to be at this point in the season. We’ve done what we need to do to keep getting better as the season keeps going.”
The Bearcats lone blemish is against the Neville Tigers on the opening week of the 2021 season; the Tigers scored a long Hail Mary pass with less than one minute left on 4th and 18 to take the final lead of the night. Since then, the Bearcats have rolled off four consecutive wins, including two in a row against defending state champions in Carenco and St. Thomas More.
Even more impressive is that Ruston is doing this with younger players at key skill positions. A lot of starters on both sides of the ball are sophomores and juniors.
“We knew that there was going to be an opportunity for the younger kids to contribute this year,” Baugh said. “I did not know how quickly they would progress. I really feel like we’re ahead of schedule with their learning curve. And, absolutely, that’s a really good thing. We can get out and play well and win some football games. We have progressed really quickly.”
District 2-5A play begins Friday night against the Pineville Rebels on the road. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. The game and pregame show can be heard on KXKZ 107.5 FM starting at 6 p.m.
