By T. Scott Boatright
It’s not every high school football player that can say they’ve made history.
But not every player is a 2022 Ruston Bearcat.
It had been since 1990 that the Bearcats had defeated West Monroe before winning 35-17 Friday night at L.J. “Hoss” Garrett Stadium.
The historic win ended a 33-game Rebel win streak over RHS and broke a 26-year district championship streak for West Monroe, leaving the Bearcats with proud momentum heading into the Division I playoffs.
“It feels great,” said sophomore linebacker Zheric Hill. “This was a goal I had before I left Ruston High. It took great teamwork. We had a great week of practice We’ve been locked in from the start and we feel like its our year now, especially now.”
It was something junior lineman Ahmad Breaux said feels special.
“Ever since I was a freshman, that’s something we wanted to do,” Breaux said. “It’s a dream to make history, beating West Monroe and getting the district title. But winning district is even bigger than beating West Monroe.”
Sophomore running back Jordan Hayes said wanting to finally flip the switch against West Monroe was bigger than team or even Ruston High School as a whole.
“It feels real good,” Hayes said. “We did it for the community. We came out here with the right mindset and executed every play. We came out here and did what we had to do to win. We wanted this win for everyone who supports Ruston football.”
Senior kicker/punter RJ Brown said it was impossible not to hear about the streaks as the week progressed.
“Every day, every class, all people were talking about was the streak and if we could finally break it,” Brown said. “It’s been brought up every single day. I don’t think we had it on our minds during the game, we focused on the game. But doing it is a plus. Ending that streak is gives us even a little more momentum going into the playoffs on top of getting the win.”
Breaux said the all the “streak talk” went beyond Ruston High.
“It was everywhere,” Breaux said. “At school, my classmates, my family, people stopping me in the store when they saw my team sweatshirt with my number on it. They stopped me to talk about the game.
“Our coaches told us to not get distracted. So we didn’t pay attention to those outside distractions.”
Hill said he did his best not to think about it despite all the talk.
“You’ve just got to tone that stuff out and get ready for the game,” Hill said. “I just tried to avoid tonight. But tonight, after we won, so many have come up to me saying thank you and that this was something they’ve waited a long time for.”
The talk about both streaks is something Brown said he couldn’t remember not hearing.
“They said they’re going to win every year,” Brown said. “We say we’re going to win every year. I’ve been surrounded by it all my life. I was a ball boy. I’ve been there. And they won it every year. And finally, this was the year, and I’m just glad to be part of it. It’s something I’ve wanted since I can remember. Seeing the whole town out here support us is amazing.”
A big part of the Bearcats breaking the streak came on the first play of the second half as Brown kicked off.
The Bearcats received the opening kickoff, so West Monroe was back to receive the second half kick. As he booted the ball into strong, gusty winds flowing from north to south, Brown timed things perfectly, kicking the ball high and short.
The wind slapped the ball downward and the Bearcats recovered and converted it into a one-yard plunge to paydirt by Jadon Smith that pushed the Bearcats’ lead to 28-10.
“Our coaches talked about doing it,” Brown said. “The wind, at halftime it really started blowing unexpectedly, so we took advantage of it and I kicked it like that, and it worked perfectly.”
But not everything was perfect for Brown on this historic night. Not on a night where adrenaline was running high for everyone, coaches, players and fans alike.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Brown was back to punt and when he received the snap, hesitated a moment before sprinting to his right, gaining yardage but failing to make a first down, turning the ball over to West Monroe in RHS territory.
“Uh … all I know … all I’m going to say, is that I’m going to get talked about a lot in the film room Monday,” Brown said, grinning widely. “I’ll be the hot topic.”
“People kept telling us this was our year and just gave us their support,” Mayfield said. “The encouraged off the field and encouraged us while we on the field tonight.
“They were here today and showed up like I’ve never seen. That helped us play the way we did tonight and finally get over the hump and beat (West Monroe).”
It was even the first win over West Monroe for Bearcats defensive coordinator Kyle Williams, who was the Class 5A Defensive MVP as a senior Bearcat in 2002 before moving on to become an All American at LSU and an All Pro for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
“I’m just really happy for our kids,” Williams said. “We’ve challenged our kids to really rise above and worry about the next play and those kinds of things, so worrying about all the things that come along with this game and focusing on what they needed to do to get the win makes me so proud of them.”
“The thing is, for all of them, it’s been taken off their plate — what the older kids have heard for years. The younger players won’t worry about that anymore. It’s behind all of us, but I’m especially happy for them for making that happen and being able to totally focus on the next game.”
