By Kyle Roberts
The 2023 Ruston High Bearcats (7-0, 2-0 District 2-5A) will hit the road again tonight to take on fellow 2-5A opponent West Ouachita (5-2, 0-2 District 2-5A), a team that has been riddled with injuries at crucial positions.
West Ouachita had swept its way through non-district play, and at one point, sat atop the Non-Select Division I power rankings. As district play began, both running backs Antonio “Cadillac” Ford and Jordan Barr both suffered injuries; Ford remains out while Barr is possibly a game-time decision.
Injuries or not, Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh, a 1995 graduate of West Ouachita, knows the Chiefs will be a team that will play hard every single down regardless of circumstance.
“I take pride in that, having gone to school there,” Baugh said. “That was always one thing that I felt; even when we were outmatched, when we went out, we competed and played hard. That’s exactly what you see when you’ve got the video on those guys again this year.
“I’ve warned our team that they are going to fight every snap; that’s what we need to be ready for.”
Ruston remains undefeated after hosting Pineville last week for homecoming and winning 48-6. Multiple starting Bearcats sat out last week, but nearly all will be back in the lineup tonight.
“I think we’re in good shape for the most part, being at this point of the season,” Baugh said regarding injuries. “You never know what might happened, but I feel really fortunate where we are.
Junior running back Dylone Brooks is not expected to play tonight due to a lingering injury and will be evaluated on a weekly basis.
Reflecting on where the Bearcats are eight weeks into the season, Baugh believes his team is in a good place as the postseason creeps closer.
“I mean, I’m a football coach, so I’m not ever satisfied completely,” Baugh said. “But I think we’re in a good spot at this point in the season. I think we still have some opportunities with some games left against som good football teams to get better, and that’s really what I communicated to them. I think West Ouachita is going to be another opportunity to improve on some things that we haven’t done very well and try to work on consistency. As it gets closer to the end of the season, you start to run out of those chances.”
Specifically for this ball game, Baugh has challenged his team to tune out the noise that this might be another easy game and stay focused on the task at hand.
“I think we’ve been good physically through practice this week,” Baugh added. “But if they don’t get mentally prepared, they’re not going to play well. So for them, I think being able to bypass all of the distractions; that’s really what I’ll be looking at.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed live on BearcatNationNetwork.com and listened to on Z107.5FM.
