LONGVIEW, Texas — A sharper second-half Ruston High Bearcat team overcame a halftime deficit Friday night against the Longview Lobos to win 21-10, handing Longview its second consecutive loss in as many weeks.
The win adds to the Bearcat’s winning streak of 17 consecutive games, the longest in the state of Louisiana.
“This was a very physical ballgame,” Ruston High head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “You know, (Longview) has been struggling with some injuries, but Coach King does a great job. We knew they’d be ready, and we were pretty inconsistent at times. We’ve just got to clean some things up, and there’s a lot to say about that. But you know, regardless, and I’m pretty critical, at the end of the day, we’re finding ways to win ballgames.”
Ruston got the job done on the ground with a total of 201 yards rushing and two touchdowns, the key score coming early in the third from a run by senior running back Jordan Hayes from 59-yards away with 8:38 to go in the quarter. Bearcat senior quarterback Josh Brantley would score the insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put Ruston up multiple scores, while the Bearcat defense stopped Longview on fourth down twice in the final stanza.
“We had put our defense in a bad position (in the first half) on a bad snap on a punt, but we still help them to a field goal,” Baugh said. “I think we felt good overall about what were doing, but we needed to execute a little bit better on the plays we let (Longview) get out on. Really, the message at halftime was to keep lining back up for the next snap, and we’ve got to be where it is we’re supposed to be and make plays. We did that in the second half, defensively.”
Following an opening drive touchdown for the Bearcats, Ruston struggled to move the ball efficiently for most of the first half, while Longview would cough up the football three times with a fumble and two interceptions. Sophomore Jayden Ainding would pick off both passes inside the Ruston 10-yard line to stall Lobo scoring drives.
“Aidan (Anding) gets a lot of press, and rightfully so, but Jayden’s a pretty good ball player, too,” Baugh said. “He’s coming along, and he’s going to continue to grow. The more experience he gets, it allows him to settle in the safety position. I don’t think they threw one ball Aidan’s way on the deep ball tonight, but I expect Jayden to make more of those plays as the season goes along.”
Ruston’s first drive of the night ended in a 15-yard touchdown toss by Brantley to sophomore wide receiver Ahmad Hudson with 7:09 left to go in the first quarter. The Bearcats put together and eight-play drive to go 74 yards down the field.
Longview scored its first touchdown of the night on the first play of the second quarter when quarterback Maverick Rowe threw a seven-yard touchdown grab to receiver Jayden Washington.
The Lobos tacked on a 25-yard field goal as time expired to take a 10-7 lead into the halftime locker room.
After falling to the Bearcats, Longview marks just their second consecutive home loss for the first time since 2000. The Lobos had not lost by double-digits at home since 2016.
Hayes led all rushers with 93 yards on the ground. Brantley completed 7-of-9 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown in his return after sitting out to nurse an ankle injury last week.
Senior kicker Jack Elliott connected on all three point-after attempts and remains perfect on the season on extra points.
Ruston will return to Texas Saturday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. for a neutral-site matchup with Midland-Legacy High School in Arlington, Texas, at Choctaw Stadium.
