NEW ORLEANS — The Ruston Bearcats would not be denied.

That was especially true for junior quarterback Josh Brantley, who took over in the second half with both his arms and legs to lead RHS to its first state title since 1990 as the Bearcats defeated Zachary 31-17 in the Division I Non-Select School Championship Football Championship at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans.

Brantley, who was named the game’s MVP, totaled 333 yards of offense, throwing for 194 while adding another 134 and scoring scampers of three, seven and a 24-yarder naked bootleg to the left that he took untouched to paydirt with 1:05 remaining to set off an early start for Ruston’s state title celebration.

“It’s been a very long journey but me and the men knew what we could do together, so we all came together as one to finish the job,” Brantley said.

Ruston struck first with 3:22 left in the opening stanza as a 27-yard field goal attempt by Jackson Elliot hit the crossbar spinning before “walking” up and over it to fall good on the other side to put the Bearcats on top 3-0.

But Zachary tied things up with 8:45 remaining in the first half on a 27-yard field goal of its own before Kameron Thomas escaped for a seven-yard touchdown run a little more than two minutes later that put the Broncos on top 10-3.

The Bearcats managed to send the game into the locker rooms tied at 10-10 after junior Aiden Anding raced a long punt return 54 yards to the end zone at the 1:49 mark of the second quarter.

Anding added four tackles and a pair of key pass breakups on the defensive side, including a fourth-and-goal short fade late in the third quarter from Zachary quarterback Hudson Spangler to 6-4 receiver Trey’Dez Green, who used his height to often outjump defenders for eight catches for 97 yards.

With Zachary keying on stopping RHS running Jordan Hayes, the Bearcats turned to Brantley in the second half and let his career performance do the rest as he continued getting stronger through both the air and on the ground as the game progressed toward its finish.

Brantley averaged 6.1 yards per carry, rushing 21 times while connecting on 11-of-19 pass attempts while Logan Malone topped RHS receivers with five catches for 112 yards, including a 51-yarder.

“I think we turned the quarter offensively and put our fingers on what we needed to do in the second half and particularly the end of the Neville ballgame in Week 5,” said Baugh.

“Anything your quarterback can run the ball, it adds another dynamic to your offense and another weapon to use and he’s a big, physical kid. He’s hard to bring down and people get tired of trying to tackle him

Zachary made a key stop on the Bearcats to take over possession at its own 20-yard line with 2:30 remaining for one last chance to tie things up.

It looked like Ruston linebacker Zheric Hill jumped a route on a quick slant attempt by the Broncos to pick off the pass, giving the ball right back to the Bearcats, but that call was overturned when it was determined that Hill failed to maintain possession until hitting the turf.

But the Bearcats defense stiffened again, forcing two straight incompletions to take over on downs at the Zachary 26 with 2:24 left on the clock.

That Ruston defense held Zachary’s vaunted rushing offense to 82 yards on 26 carries on the night.

The Bearcats then chewed precious time off the clock on three runs totaling two yards before Brantley’s bootleg froze the Broncos’ defense and he easily ran for the left corner of the end zone to secure the win.

Senior linebacker Jadon Mayfield also played a key role for Ruston, totaling 12 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks.

“Every year the best thing I’ve been able to say about Jaydon is that he’s coming back,” Baugh said. “So I was hoping he’d tell me they’ve allowed him one more year.

“Jadon has allowed us to do a lot of different things defensively that you just don’t see a lot of kids be able to do. We play a lot of three-down defensive-line looks, but you can add him to the front to make it a four-down look, or he can drop back in coverage and play a regular linebacker spot. He just makes it so that you can do so many things defensively — that’s hard to gameplan for.”

While Baugh was cherishing the state title win, he couldn’t seem to help taking a quick glance toward the future at the same time,

“I’m just proud for these kids and really all the kids that have come through this program since I was a head coach, and they’re a part of this — I want them all to enjoy this,” said Baugh.

“It’s been a lot of hard work that’s went on and the thing is, it’s a never-ending thing for coaches. We’ll enjoy this for a while and then come back after Christmas and regroup and go back to work.”

---