By Kyle Roberts
Sitting steady at No. 2 in the LHSAA Non-Select Division I Power Rankings, it seems somewhat safe to say that the Ruston Bearcats (7-1; 3-0 District 2-5A) control their own destiny for a high seed to enter into postseason play, as well as a shot at an outright district title.
Even after a slate of five powerhouse opponents in non-district play, Ruston still has its work cut out for itself in the final two weeks of the 2022 regular season: first at Ouachita tonight, and then home for West Monroe next Friday.
The Bearcats hit the road again for the final time in league-play and head to the Lion’s Den to take on a Ouachita team that sits 4-4 (2-1 District 2-5A) on the season but had also chosen to play a difficult non-district schedule.
“They have a running back where things get started and where they end offensively,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said of Lion tailback Carldell Sirmons. “The quarterback gets some touches, but the speed and agility that (Sirmons) has at running back is hard to deal with. We’re going to have to tackle really well and be where we’re supposed to be. He does a really good job of hitting holes, so if guys are not in the correct gap doing what they are supposed to do, then he’ll do a good job of hitting his spots. We’re going to have to do a really good job of playing really sound defensively and tackle well. We’ve put together a good plan defensively, so we’ll see how it goes in practice.”
Ruston is coming off of a comfortable 48-7 win at home last week against the West Ouachita Chiefs for its 2022 Homecoming Game. That same night, Ouachita trailed West Monroe 17-14 at halftime in Rebel Stadium before the Rebels shut Sirmons down in the second half en route to a 45-14 win over the Lions.
“It’s like I told the kids on Saturday: you don’t need to look at what their score was on Friday,” Baugh said. “It was a close ballgame and then the wheels fell off in the second half for Ouachita. They are still good football team. Coach (Todd) Garvin is going to have them ready to play. They played some really good competition this year and have had a tough schedule just like we have. The score from last week is no indication from what I feel like what we’ll see on Friday.”
While Ruston has won a few in a row over Ouachita, it’s become quite the norm for the Bearcats and the Lions to give fans an instant classic on the gridiron. Last season, the Bearcats eked out an overtime win by a final score of 56-55, winning after the Lions opted to go for two in overtime.
“The past few years these have been close ball games,” Baugh added. “You don’t want to go into a game feeling like it’s going to be close; you’ve got to be mentally prepared for that if it happens to turn into that. I’m urging our kids to go out to practice and get prepared to play the best ballgame we can play.”
