By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — For the third straight season, No. 3 Ruston High (10-2) will be hosting a semifinal playoff game at Hoss Garrett Stadium.
And with a win, the Bearcats could punch their third straight ticket to the Super Dome to play in a state championship game.
But in the way? No. 10 Destrehan, a team that Ruston has seen in nearly each playoff series since 2020 — and it’s been the Wildcats that have been the victors each time, including in the 2022 LHSAA State Championship game by a final score of 17-10.
”We’ve had some close games with them,” Ruston High head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “We’ve been on the back end each time, but it’s not like they’ve ‘boat-raced’ us or that we didn’t have an opportunity in those games to win. I think we haven’t played particularly well in some of those games for one reason or another. And some of it’s due to how good of a team they are.
”You go back and look at the state championship game from two years ago, it was the first time our kids have played in a setting like that. We had a lot of false starts at the very beginning of the game and never got in tune offensively in particular. I think it’s good that we’re playing them at home. Our kids should be comfortable, and there’s no reason at all for our kids to come out here and not be ready to play.”
Destrehan finished 7-3 during the regular season while winning their last four consecutive games leading into the playoffs. Sophomore running back Malachi Dabney has led the running game through the playoffs for the Wildcats, amassing 600 yards and 11 touchdowns in their three playoff wins. Dabney took over earlier in the year at tailback for injured Shane Ward.
”The thing that jumps out to me watching video of them, most of the time they’re faster than the other team,” Baugh said. “Coach (Marcus) Scott does a wonderful job getting them ready to play. They’ve got really good football players, and they’re always prepared and ready to play. Their speed-game is always at the top level.”
Baugh said the ‘Cats overall had a great week of practice and that from an injury perspective, Ruston should be good to go tonight, including senior running back Jordan Hayes, who went out with an ankle injury last week against Southside after the game was well out-of-hand.
”Nobody has missed any reps (this week), so that’s always good,” Baugh said. “And they seem to be running around better than what they did last week.”
Temperatures will also be near- or sub-freezing around kickoff tonight, but for Baugh and the Bearcats, nothing changes from a preparation perspective.
”It was cold last Friday, so I don’t think we’re going to do anything differently,” Baugh said. “We had a couple of heaters on our side, and the skill guys will have some hand warmers — stuff like that. But I mean, there’s no way to really run away from it. At the end of the day, (the weather) is a distraction that you have to bypass in order to win a ballgame. We still need to execute.”
The game will be a black-out, so fans are encouraged to wear anything black.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Q94.1 FM and streamed on BearcatNationNetwork.com for free.
Tickets will be $17 for reserved seats and $15 for general admission and can only be purchased through the GoFAN app.
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