By Kyle Roberts
If you blinked, you may have missed the non-district slate of games for the Ruston High School Bearcats. You may also have missed that they are now 4-1 on the year, ranked No. 5 by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in Class 5A, and sit at the very top of the Non-Select Division I Power Rating after these first five weeks.
That’s an awful lot of good to report midway through the season, and Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh reflected Wednesday on what has gotten his team to this point.
“I know I sound like a broken record every week, but the first five games have come down to the end of the game and finding a way to win,” Baugh said. “I’ve been pleased with our kids being able to do that. Eventually though, we’ve got to be able to take another step forward and figure out how to get and stretch a lead. I think we have missed some opportunities to be able to take multiple score leads and make it where it doesn’t come down to the end of the game.”
The 4-1 record came after the Bearcats opened up against some of the stiffest competition the program could find to play. Whether South Louisiana teams who had played in last year’s state title game (Warren Easton, Jesuit, and Lafayette Christian Academy) or the largest populated high school in Arkansas (Cabot High School) or a century-old rivalry (Neville), Ruston came prepared and is only an overtime loss away in week one from being undefeated this season.
Baugh talked at length about how his defense has performed this season as he expected it to with the returners from last year.
“I felt like over the summer that we were going to be really good on defense,” Baugh said. “Of course, there’s always room for improvement, but I’ve been very pleased with the fact that the returning guys that we have are playing really well. We’ve been able to depend on them to make the plays that we needed to while other guys are getting experience.”
Offensively, Ruston has been able to throw the ball as senior quarterback Jaden Osborn and senior wide receiver Aaron Jackson have gotten into a rhythm through the air. Jackson hauled in three touchdowns last week against the Neville Tigers and eclipsed the century-mark in receiving yards.
Worth noting on the offense, senior tailback Dyson Fields suffered an injury Friday against Neville and will be evaluated on a week-by-week basis. In the last two games, Fields had rushed for nearly 300 combined yards and four touchdowns.
Ruston so far:
Week 1: Warren Easton (L) 25-19 OT
Week 2: Jesuit (W) 28-23
Week 3: Cabot (W) 17-14
Week 4: at Lafayette Christian (W) 35-20
Week 5: Neville (W) 27-21
The Bearcats open up district play on the road Friday, Oct. 7, against Alexandria Senior High. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
