By Kyle Roberts
ARLINGTON, Texas – The big lights of a former Major League ballpark has absolutely zero effect on the Ruston High School Bearcats.
Coming to Texas for a second consecutive week, the Bearcats (4-0) picked off Midland Legacy’s sophomore quarterback JP Reyes three times in the first half, leading to a comfortable 38-6 win in the neutral site contest.
Ruston High school head coach Jerrod Baugh credited the defense’s approach this week for its outstanding performance on Saturday.
“We had very good preparation,” Baugh said. “I thought were some balls in the air we needed to make plays on, and we made those plays. We talked to them about that in practice — we told them they needed to do that in the game. I think that carried over into today.
Senior linebacker Zheric Hill picked off his first pass of the day at the 11:02 mark of the first quarter, which led to a nine-play, 58 yard touchdown drive capped off by a 15-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Josh Brantley.
Hill picked off his second pass just a few minutes later and returned the ball 35 yards for a touchdown to give Ruston a 14-0 lead. Sophomore Jayden Anding pulled down his third interception in two games with just over four minutes to go in the first quarter.
Bearcat senior kicker Jack Elliott tagged on a 40-yard field goal near the end of the first quarter to give Ruston a 17-0 lead.
Brantley added his second touchdown of the day with a 23-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to extend Ruston’s lead to 24-0 with 9:59 to play in the first half. Brantley threw for 135 yards and a second half touchdown to senior wideout Joran Parker, while rushing for 63 yards and two scores.
“Josh’s play today was very good,” Baugh said. “He’s able to execute what the coaches ask him to do in the running and passing game, and the receivers made some really good plays, also. We’ve got to be able to do that a lot.”
Senior running back Dylone Brooks led all rushers with 93 yards on the ground, adding a touchdown in the fourth quarter from 64 yards away. Elliott also stays perfect on PAT’s this season.
Ruston High will extend its winning streak to 18-straight games, the longest in the state of Louisiana. Baugh said he is pleased with his 4-0 start with another difficult schedule. Midland Legacy had won its previous six district championships and came into the ballgame averaging over 40 points per contest.
“It’s a really good start to the season, for sure,” Baugh said. “I thought our kids handled this trip really well. We had some good, good practices leading up to this ball game. I thought we started the first half as good as we could– probably not so much in the second half. I’d like to see us keep our foot on the gas pedal and continue to get after it. But overall, I was pleased with what we did.”
The Bearcats will return back to Texas one last time Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m. against Stephenville High School in another neutral site contest to be held at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas.
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