WHAT: (5) Ruston vs. (12) Benton
WHERE: James Field at Garrett Stadium
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m.
HOW: KRUS 96.3 (Stream here)
RUSTON, La. — After coming alive in the second half last week, the fifth-seeded Ruston Bearcats were able to come away with a 45-10 win over the Covington Lions at James Field at Garrett Stadium and will host the twelfth-seeded Benton Tigers at home again on Friday night.
“(Benton) does a lot of things offensively,” Ruston head football coach Jerrod Baugh said. “They use their receivers in different ways as tight ends and H-backs. It can really pose a lot of problems. We have to manage how we want to play that.”
Against Covington, Ruston rushed for a total of 383 yards on the ground with all six touchdowns coming from the run game. Wilson finished with three touchdowns on 114 yards rushing. Junior quarterback Jaden Osborn threw for 126 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground, as well.
It took nearly the entire first half for Ruston to score its first touchdown of the night before scoring five in the second half alone.
“It’s kind of one of those things where you have to build your confidence back up,” Baugh said about the touchdown drive to end the first half. “We came out in the second half and emulated that intensity on offense. I was pleased with how our defense played throughout the entire ballgame. We knew they had two (skill players) that were very talented.”
Benton beat 21st-seeded Hahnville 38-31 in a game where Hahnville was considered by most to be the favorite to win despite being the worse seed.
Ruston has made the quarterfinals in the last three seasons in a row.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m with the pregame show starting at 6 p.m. on KRUS and https://www.hitz963fm.com/.
PHOTO CREDIT: Reggie McLeroy
