By T. Scott Boatright
Championship-caliber teams always seem to have a strong group of players on the bench.
And it was unheralded players providing solid depth that helped Ruston secure a second-straight trip to the Nonselect Division I state championship game at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans as the Bearcats defeated Mandeville 28-7 Friday night at L.J. “Hoss” Garrett Stadium.
For sure, Ruston’s star players lived up to that status to help propel the Bearcats to the win — starting with Jordan “Jet” Hayes booming and zooming and slicing and dicing his way for 184 yards and two scores on 19 carries.
And quarterback Josh Brantley helped with a solid aerial attack, connecting on 8-of-12 yards for 72 yards and a touchdown.
And on defense, Tulane commitment Geordan Guidry and LSU commitment Ahmad Breaux were as strong as always, with each chalking up two quarterback sacks.
Not to be forgotten, senior linebacker Jadon Mayfield totaled six tackles to lead the Bearcats in takedowns along with Breaux, who also chalked up half-a-dozen takedowns.
But without strong depth, would the Bearcats be making a return trip to New Orleans?
That’s doubtful in my mind.
And that’s it was some of the unheralded Bearcats who played just as big a role as the team starts in the win over the Skippers.
Sure, the players in the trenches are often unheralded, and even the average football fan knows that games are won or lost in the trenches.
But that’s not what I’m talking about in saying it was Ruston’s unheralded players that proved to be a big difference in the game’s outcome, even if it is true that the Bearcats won the game over the Skippers because of Ruston’s dominance in the trenches.
I’m talking about Ruston’s bench —- the backup Bearcats who played just as big of a role in helping spur RHS on to victory.
Senior receiver Jamar Woods is one of those players. No, Woods doesn’t have a ton of catches on the season. But let’s face it, the Bearcats are a run-first, run-second and run-third kind of team that hasn’t attempted a lot of passes this season.
But Woods did his part in the win over Mandeville with a 26-yard touchdown reception on a pass lofted to the left corner of the end zone by Brantley on a third-and-18 situation that put Ruston on top 21-0 midway though the second quarter,
Woods wasn’t the only unheralded Bearcat that made a big impact in the win over the Skippers.
Junior running back Dylone Brooks is another.
Giving Hayes a chance to keep his legs fresh, Brooks was the first Bearcat to light up the scoreboard as his 7-yard scoring scamper put Ruston on top 7-0 with 4:05 remaining in the opening stanza.
Brooks’ long run down inside the Mandeville 15-yard line set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Hayes for Ruston’s final second with 7:25 remaining on the game clock. He rushed for 102 yards and 14 carries.
Defensively, while Breaux and Guidry haul in the most attention, junior defensive lineman Peyton Bell has quietly turned in a solid season and was back at it Friday night.
With Mandeville driving late in the final five minutes, Bell picked up his quarterback sack of the game before Guidry followed with his second to force a turnover on downs by the Skippers that allowed the Bearcats to run out the clock.
The point is, only with a strong group of players on the bench, can a team consistently win. Every great team has great depth.
Ruston proved it has that kind of depth in the win over Mandeville.
And that depth, combined with the experience of players who participated in last year’s heartbreaking state title game loss to Destrehan, that I believe will be the winning difference for the Bearcats against Dutchtown-Zachary winner next week in the Superdome.
