By Kyle Roberts
The Ruston Bearcats enter Week 8 of the 2022 season with a 6-1 record after opening District 2-5A play 2-0 to take on the West Ouachita Chiefs (4-3; 0-2 District 2-5A) for a homecoming matchup back at home.
Ruston has been on the road for three of its last four ball games, and is currently on a six-game winning streak.
“We’re winding down to the point of the season where it doesn’t matter who the opponent is,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “We have to come out to practice and get as good as we can by the end of the ten regular season games. I think our kids have had a good week of practice up to this point.”
West Ouachita serves as Ruston’s homecoming matchup at James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium. Multiple graduating classes will be honored through the week heading into the contest.
“It’s a lot of distractions with homecoming and all that kind of stuff,” Baugh said. “The angle I take and the thing I tell our kids is that it’s not like that everywhere. The history of football here and the tradition we have here is really special. You get a lot of people back here in town to see this football team, and what they expect to see when they get out there is a representation of what all those people remember football being at Ruston. We take it seriously.”
Ruston most recently shut out the Pineville Rebels on the road by a final score of 62-0. West Ouachita has lost its last three games in a row after starting the 2022 season 4-0.
The Bearcats are currently ranked No. 5 in 5A by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and are at No. 2 in the Power Ratings in Non-Select Division I. The top four seeds will receive a bye in the first round of the 2022 postseason.
Kickoff between Ruston and West Ouachita is set for 7 p.m. The football game can be heard live on Z107.5 FM and will be streamed on BearcatNationNetwork.com.
