By T. Scott Boatright
Big-time players make big plays in big moments.
And even though he’s only 5-10 and 175 pounds, Ruston High School senior running back Jordan Hayes turned in a giant of a game Friday night as he led the Bearcats to a 41-21 win over Zachary in the second round of the Division I Non-Select School playoffs at L.J. “Hoss” Garrett Stadium.
The player known as “Jet” totaled 158 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, averaging 9.3 yards per rushing attempt.
“I’m feeling great — I’m just seizing the moment right now,” Hayes said. “I knew I was going to have a great game today and we just came out and executed at a high level and it showed.”
Fittingly, Hayes opened scoring for the Bearcats, tying the game at 7-7 at the 11:56 mark of the second stanza as he bounced off tackle left for a three-yard scamper to paydirt on a fourth down and goal play.
But it was the first play from scrimmage in the second half that Hayes turned in his biggest run of the night as he jetted through a hole up the middle and raced 70 yards for a score that put the Bearcats back on top 21-14 only 10 seconds into the third quarter.
“My fullback (junior Lander Smith) opened up the hole for me and I just shot through it when I saw the crease,” Hayes said. “Then I just did what I do. I am just happy I had a big game.”
RHS Offensive Coordinator Earl Griffin said he noticed something on game video that the Bearcats were able to take advantage of on that play.
“They were overplaying the tight end side, so I ran it back to the weak side,” Griffin said. “We had plus one in the run game, and Jordan just took off and did the rest.”
Hayes then helped the Bearcats stretch their lead as he twisted through an attempted tackle and used second effort for a two-yard scoring scamper that put Ruston up 28-14 with 5:00 remaining in the third quarter.
And after fellow running Dylone Brooks was injured after carrying the ball five times for 19 yards, Hayes had to become more of a “cargo Jet” and take over rushing chores for Ruston.
“We’ll get Dylone’s injury checked out and hopefully he’ll be back, because what’s good is being able to work both those guys in at different times to keep them both fresh,” said RHS coach Jerrod Baugh. “So, then they are at top speed whenever they are out there, no matter which one it is.
“I think that’s one of the things that’s a different dynamic, having the two of them being able to switch out and keep themselves at 100% or close to it most of the time.”
Hayes said when Brooks went down, his coaches told him it was up to him to take over.
“My coach (Griffin) told me I had to go in and finish the game because Dylone got hurt,” Hayes said. “So, I had to finish out the game for my brother, and that’s what I did.”
And he did it in a big way.
“Dylone went down, and Jordan said, ‘I got us.’ He just woke back up and went out and took care of business,” Griffin said. “We went over to the bench and gave him a little pep talk in his ear, and he said he was ready to go.
“And he obviously was. He did not want this to be his last game.”
Things got scary late in the third quarter as Hayes was bent over backwards on an inside run before limping to the sideline before collapsing to the turf before Griffin grabbed him under the arms and dragged him to the bench.
“It was scary looking,” Baugh said of Hayes being bent backwards. “A couple of the coaches near me moaned when they saw it because they were worried. It looked like it hurt.
“But he went back out because we had to have him. He did what we needed him to do. If it were that bad, we never would have put him back in there, But it scared him more than anything, and once he realized it wasn’t that bad, he was OK.”
OK enough to haul in a pass from quarterback Josh Brantley and race it 65 yards down the left sideline for this third score to put the Bearcats on top 35-21 with 6:55 remaining.
“There was some stuff — kinda of unorthodox stuff they were doing — that we noticed during the game,” Griffin said. “We saw that the cornerback kept running with the wide receiver, so we just tried to get a rail on the running back and he was wide open.”
Seeing Hayes come off an injury and make that kind of play was not a surprise to his head coach.
“He just makes those plays whenever we really need them,” Baugh said. “Jordan’s worked his butt off for a long period of time, and he’s definitely deserving of any kind of recognition that he gets. He just likes the big moment and looks forward to having the ball in his hand at the big moment, and obviously he is good at it. He has been doing it a long time.”
