By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON — Anybody. Anytime. Anywhere.
That’s the Jerrod Baugh philosophy when it comes to scheduling non-district opponents, and Ruston Bearcat fans were treated to a terrific overtime matchup with 2021 4A state runner-up Warren Easton on Friday night at James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium.
Unfortunately, Ruston was on the wrong end of the scoreboard as the Eagles ran in a touchdown from seven yards out in the first and only overtime to win the ballgame by a final score of 25-19.
“We’re going to come back tomorrow morning and get back to work,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “That was the message I told our guys at the end of the game. The way I looked at it, win or lose, if we win that ballgame, nothing changes about the things that transpired in the ballgame that we need to correct and continue to work on.
“It helps everybody’s feelings if you win, but, ultimately, the things we need to work on and don’t change just because one or two plays end up differently and you win the ballgame.”
Ruston’s defense put out a terrific effort by holding Warren Easton to just six points through three quarters despite the Eagles having nearly 32 minutes in time of possession for the entire night.
After leading 19-6 after three quarters, the Bearcats gave up two fourth quarter touchdowns to the Eagles for a tie ballgame at 19-19 with 7:16 left to play before the game ended up going into overtime.
The third quarter saw a 76-yard touchdown reception by junior tight end Zhy Scott with 9:48 on the clock, which gave Ruston a 13-6 lead.
When the Eagles threatened to score in the red zone on the ensuing drive, sophomore Bearcat Zheric Hill turned a Warren Easton fumble into a return into Ruston territory. Senior Aaron Jackson brought in a highlight reel one-handed catch from 34 yards out to extend the Bearcat lead to 19-6 with 31 seconds to go in the third on the very next play.
Ruston and Warren Easton traded touchdowns in the first quarter and miss both extra points. Senior Dyson Fields ran in from 5 yards out in the first quarter to give Ruston an early 6-0 lead. Unfortunately for Ruston, Fields was ejected for a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and did not see any more snaps for the rest of the night.
“It was really unfortunate to lose him on the second series,” Baugh said about Fields. “I felt good about our game plan early when we had both running backs (Fields and sophomore Jordan Hayes) in at the same time. We had to regroup, and anytime you have to do that mid-game, it’s tough.”
In a very un-Ruston-like statistic, Warren Easton outrushed the Bearcats 239 to 24 yards on the ground for the night.
“Those guys are good up front,” Baugh said of Warren Easton’s defense. “We need to execute better than that (in the run game). We knew it was going to be tough sledding through there, but I thought we did well throwing the ball. We left our defense out there a bunch, and those guys got gassed at the end.”
Ruston returns to action Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. back at home against the Jesuit Blue Jays. The pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. and will stream live on Z107.5 FM and BearcatNationNetwork.com.
“We’ve got another great football team coming up next week,” Baugh said. “We need to turn the page and get to work on our next opponent.”
