By Kyle Roberts
It seems like both yesterday and a lifetime ago.
The Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic had effectively shut down an entire world for what felt like an eternity, reaching all the way into the 2020 Louisiana high school football season, which almost never happened.
And as Ruston prepares to honor 21 seniors tonight, it was those young men who, as freshmen that year, first donned their Bearcat jersey in the midst of all of the chaos and turmoil.
“It’s a very special group,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “I think it’s really a testament to their commitment to play football.”
Baugh reflected on the COVID-19 measures that were in place in the summer of 2020 which included multiple shutdowns of practice schedules, assigned seating on buses to avoid potential exposures, and a delayed regular season schedule that did not begin until October, all while playing at Eddie Robinson Stadium on the campus of Grambling State University.
“All through this, they continued to stick it out and decided they wanted to play,” Baugh said. “It’s the smallest senior group that we’ve had since I’ve been here. And I think that’s to be expected. You had less people that were willing to take a chance during that time. And once you sit out for a full year, you’re less likely to come back.
“To me, in that regard, they were willing to do whatever it took; fighting through all of that. This group stuck it out.”
Since 2020’s COVID season, the senior group has been part of a program that has combined for an overall record of 38-8 as of today, beaten West Monroe for the first time in three decades, and played for a state championship last year.
“With all of the bad stuff, I think some good came out of it,” Baugh said. “With respect to those guys, this group is really special to me that they made it this far, much less all of the accomplishments that they’ve had.”
Ruston will be honoring the following senior football players.
Nehemiah Addison
Jamerian Banks
Kylon Bradley
Ahmad Breaux
Jacoryian Crowe
Will Fendley
Ronald Findley
Geordan Guidry
Nate Johnson
Landon Jones
Semaj Jones
Logan Malone
Jadon Mayfield
Joe Morrow
Demario Nash
Avery Overstreet
Dutch Russell
Jon Robert Scheer
Zhy Scott
Chamarion Williams
Jamar Woods
