By Kyle Roberts
MONROE, La. — It’s a series that began more than a decade before World War II.
And for every year since 1931, the Ruston Bearcats (5-1, 1-0 District 2-5A) and Neville Tigers (4-2, 1-0 District 2-5A) have gone to the gridiron to settle one of Louisiana’s most historic rivalries — with tonight’s matchup being No. 100 overall.
“It’s pretty special,” Ruston high head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “I was a part of (a long standing rivalry) while we were at Longview. We had played Marshall for over 100 years — it’s very similar to to this. I saw somebody had put something on social media that the longest streak that either Ruston or Neville has had in a row is seven — so if you’ve been playing for 100 years and you know the most winning streak that anybody’s been able to string together is seven, that means it’s been back and forth. And really, since I’ve been here, this ball game has been a very competitive ball game. Most times, it’s a one score game that’s come down to the wire.”
Outside of a blow-out Ruston win in Baugh’s first season (41-7 in his first game as head coach for the Bearcats), each of the last eight games have been settled by one score, including a few Hail Mary completions, last minute drives, and turnovers that have sealed the deal.
It’s a tired cliché, but you really have to throw the record books out anytime these teams take to the field.
Now, with this series hitting triple digits in games played, the pomp and circumstance must be drowned out for Baugh’s ‘Cats to win their second district game in a row this year. Baugh said being on Fall Break this past week might have helped with not only that but also to help some injured players, particularly in the secondary, get some rest and treatment.
“I don’t get the feeling that our guys have folded into that now,” Baugh said. “Probably one thing that’s helped is that school is out, and so you don’t have to hear all the stuff in the hallway. It may have turned out really good that all of this landed on the Fall break week, even though I don’t feel like we’ve played particularly well after going through Fall Break recently. We did talk about that earlier, and I think they’ve handled it pretty well. It’s given us an opportunity to get some guys patched up, and (Ruston trainer Chris) Brister has been available for those guys.”
Ruston most recently beat the Ouachita Lions at home 21-14 in an instant classic that ended with junior Jayden Anding intercepting a pass late in the game to see the deal for the Bearcats. Neville picked up a blowout district win on the road at Pineville 56-6.
“Neville is a really good football team again,” Baugh said. “You always know that they’ve got a good quarterback, good running back and good receivers. Parker Robinson throws the ball really well. They ask him to do a lot of Run-Pass-Option, and he does that really well, too, and he’ll throw to some guys that are dangerous whenever they catch the football. They’re good in offensive line — I think they’re just really well-rounded group.
“Defensively it starts on the line for them. I think they’ve got some really good guys up there, very similarly to last week, and then they always have some good guys behind them. They’re very talented in the secondary. And we know all that. We’re familiar with it, because we saw them in the Bayou Jamb, even if both teams didn’t do a whole lot of scheming. But you still had those people out there, and our kids know who they are. They know who we are. And it should be a fun football game.”
Offensively, Ruston sophomore Dalen Powell leads the team with 884 rushing yards with eight touchdowns. Junior tight end Ahmad Hudson, still on the mend but in action tonight, has 408 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Junior quarterback Sam Hartwell has completed nearly 65 percent of his throws this year and has tossed 11 touchdowns.
Defensively, sophomore Aiden Adams leads the team with 30 total tackles, while senior Ra’Keem Potts leads the team in sacks with four. Anding’s two interceptions is the most by a Bearcat so far this season.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Bill Ruple Stadium on Neville’s campus tonight. The game will be broadcast live on Q94.1FM and streamed on BearcatNationNetwork.com.
