By Kyle Roberts
Rainy was how Ruston High’s spring season began this year, and rainy was how it ended Thursday night.
A water-logged matchup at Hoss Garrett Stadium between the Bearcats and the Gators of Captain Shreve ended with Ruston the victors 7-0 and gave head coach Jerrod Baugh a good look at what his team could look like next season as they look to defend the first state championship in 33 years.
With bad weather in the forecast, Ruston moved the start time for the first blocks of sets from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. Originally, two blocks were planned for the night, but as the rain fell, the decision was made to go ahead and start the two 12-minute halves with a running clock.
“I thought it was productive,” Baugh said. “It’s good to get out and hit somebody else. We’ve been hitting on each other for nine days, and then you get out here and get somebody else, and they get their energy and adrenaline going. Everybody wants to talk a little trash and you know, it’s nothing wrong with getting amped up and all of that, but you just have to learn how to control that and move to the next snap. But that’s part of the learning experience. That’s why we like to go against somebody different at the end.”
Offensively, Ruston’s lone touchdown of the night was set up by a 40-yard run by senior running back Dylone Brooks, which led to senior running back Jordan Hayes’ 47-yard touchdown scamper with 5:31 to go in the first 12-minute half.
“I think it’s something we expect out of those guys,” Baugh said of his running back corps. “I was really pleased to see us hold onto the football with the wet ball tonight. I was really pleased with those guys.”
Ruston was without starting quarterback Josh Brantley, who re-aggravated his ankle earlier in the week on a quarterback sneak. Sophomore Sam Hartwell got the nod and made a few impressive throws in the rain behind a solid offensive line.
“I did think Sam did some good things,” Baugh said. “I thought the guys up front did some good things (When a starter is out), it’s a really great opportunity for your next quarterback to get in and let him handle all of those situations. I mean, the thing that I look at isn’t necessarily just this next year. You look at the long term effect that that will have on his playing career here. You can’t replace those snaps that Sam’s getting with this with the first group.”
The Bearcats have the tall task of replacing a defense that will have graduated Geordan Guidry, Ahmad Breaux, Jadon Mayfield and Nate Johnson, to name a few. However, Baugh added he was pleased with some of the up-and-comers such as junior linebacker Zander Hayes and junior defensive lineman Ra’Keem Potts and sophomore defensive lineman Ethan Russell played.
“I thought those guys got after it,” Baugh said. “We ended up taking the first group of linebackers out some and rotated in some other guys. They got some good quality snaps against the first group. You know, we lost some really big names on defense. And on the outside looking in, you might feel like that it’s fixing to be a big drop off. But production level-wise, I think those guys got after it and made some good plays against a big offensive line.”
