by Malcolm Butler
No 1 ranked Ruston High survived a late scare from No. 3 ranked Acadiana as the Bearcats opened the season with a 35-27 win Friday night at James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium.
Impressive Opening Drive: After taking the opening kickoff of the night, Ruston used a 17-play, 80-yard drive that took 6:09 off the clock as Jordan Hayes scored on an eight-yard TD run on fourth-down and seven from the Acadiana eight-yard line. Ruston converted a pair of fourth-down plays on the drive, including a 16-yard completion to Ahmad Hudson on fourth-down and six from the Wreckin’ Rams 28-yard line.
New Look Bearcat Defense: Ruston High lost a number of key components of it’s state championship caliber defensive unit from a season ago. And although a number of key players return such as Zheric Hill and Aidan Anding, the Bearcats had plenty of question marks entering the season. For much of the game, the Bearcats hung strong against the run-oriented Acadiana Wreckin’ Rams attack.
“I was very pleased to see how we performed tonight,” said head coach Jerrod Baugh. “I knew that would be a big deal for us. How fast are those guys going to mature as players. I think they spoke really loud and clear as to that. We have to clean up some things and continue to work. It’s just week one. We made some mistakes here and there, but Acadiana is a really good football team that brought a lot of experience guys back off a state runner-up team. I knew they were going to be here ready to play.
“I think it speaks a lot for our guys who may have gotten a few snaps sprinkled in here and there and then their play on the JV was the majority of their time … they just continued to work and when their number was called to be the guy they stepped up and did it against a really good football team.”
Starting 1-0: The last two season, Ruston High has lost its season opener at home against Warren Easton (was awarded a forfeit following the loss in 2023). However, tonight the Bearcats found a way to pick up a marquee win to open the year against an Acadiana team that should be in the hunt for a state title in 2024.
“I think that is a big thing,” said Baugh. “It’s a big thing for me confidence-wise for these guys to start the season on a positive note and to shake off the state championship left over stuff and make an identity for this football team. They took that to heart. I’ve been pushing on them the past couple of weeks. That’s usually the first question I’ve gotten the past few weeks. ‘How is it going to go after the state championship season?’ I think these players were ready to move on and I think they did a really good job of that. Not to slight what we were able to do last year, but I think this team wants to do their own thing. And that’s a good thing.”
Hudson Comes Up Big Despite Wrist Injury: Sophomore tight end Ahmad Hudson was a bit of a surprise participant in Friday night’s game after suffering an injury in the scrimmage at Byrd a few weeks ago. Hudson missed the jamboree against Neville last week, but suited up for the Bearcats Friday night and made some big plays, including a 39-yard TD reception on Ruston opening possession of the third quarter. Hudson finished with three receptions for 60 yards and the one score.
“We are able to do a lot of different things with him because he played receiver last year and he is able to play some tight end. We are able to juggle him in and out (of the two positions). It make teams have to figure out if you get in two tight end sets, are they fixing to add defensive linemen. And then you are able to split him out and they aren’t sure how they want to handle all of those things. Having someone who can do a wide variety of things is a big deal. If you are 6-7, 215-pounds … that helps too.”
Brantley’s Deep Throws: While Josh Brantley rushed for 179 yards and two scores on just 10 carries, he also made his mark through the air. The senior signal caller completed 8-of-12 passes for 190 yards and two scores, including a 50-yarder to Joran Parker and a 39-yarder to Hudson. Brantley had two nice deep throws where he hit Parker in stride, one for the 50-yard score and another for a 45-yard gain. He also hit Hudson on a rollout that turned into a 39-yard score.
“At the end of the season last year, Josh really matured a lot as a football player. He really came into his own. After the great performance in the state championship game, I really think … He never said anything, but I think he wanted to show that that wasn’t a one-time deal. That he is able to do that. That he is a good football player and he can handle that game after game. I hope we don’t have to plan on him having all those big games but I think he took it personal. He wanted to come out tonight and have a big game, and he definitely did.
“We have some guys out there to throw the ball to. They shook some guys and got loose and we made some throws. We found some things we liked in the running game.”
Special Team Snafu Changes Moment: With the Bearcats leading 14-0 in the second quarter and controlling both sides of the football, a special teams mistake gave Acadiana life. On fourth-down and 12 from the Ruston 26-yard line, Acadiana broke through off the edge and blocked Cade Kelly’s punt, recovering on the Bearcats three-yard line. One play later the Wreckin’ Rams scored to cut the Ruston lead to 14-7.
“A guy came off the edge,” said Baugh. “We didn’t stay on our block long enough. He shouldn’t have had time. I think it was a combination of we didn’t stay on our block long enough and we held onto the ball a little too long. We should have been able to get that ball off.”
Third Quarter Start: After Ruston saw Acadiana score on the final play of the second quarter to cut the Bearcats lead to 28-20 at halftime, the Bearcats made a statement to start the third quarter. Acadiana received the opening kickoff to start the second half, but the Ruston defense held them to a three-and-out, forcing a punt. The Bearcats took over on the Acadiana 44-yard line following the punt and after back-to-back Jordan Hayes runs picked up five yards, Brantley found Hudson for a 39-yard TD pass and a 35-20 Ruston lead.
“That was big for them to score right before the half knowing they were going to get the football to start the second half,” said Baugh. “They could possibly pick up two scores back-to-back and possibly tie the game. We are really fortunate our defense came out and forced a three-and-out. That was a big deal. Offensively, we went down and scored the ball. You look at different aspects of the game whether it be offensively or defensively or whatever, the kids stood tall when they needed to and made the plays whenever we needed them.”
Baugh’s Thoughts on O-Line: Maybe the biggest question mark entering the year offensively is along the offensive line after the Bearcats graduated three starters from last season. On Friday night, the big boys up front did enough to help Ruston rush for over 300 yards in the win.
“They are coming along,” said Baugh. “I have been really hard on those guys through fall camp. I haven’t really felt like they were giving us what they had in them. But they have just come in every day and gone to work. Sam Nations goes down late and Cedric Rhone is waiting right there to jump in. You have to have those kids be ready to be available. We have done a lot of shuffling around on the offensive line. I think we can steady some things up and those guys handled some really good defensive linemen in the running game.”
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