By T. Scott Boatright
In baseball, a change-up pitch is a valuable weapon to have.
Changing things up works in football, too, as the Ruston Bearcats showed as after almost sleepwalking through the first half, they roared to life after intermission to defeat Southside 38-28 to earn a berth in next weekend’s Division IV semifinals,
Trailing 28-21 at the half, the Bearcats came out strong to open the third quarter, making a defensive stop to regain possession after the Sharks’ post-intermission opening drive and then tying the game at 28-28 with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter on a 22-yard scoring scamper by quarterback Sam Hartwell.
“We came out kind of flat in the first half,” Hartwell said. “We woke back up in the second half and I think we did a good job of coming together and knowing that we had to do that as a team — it’s not just the offense or defense, it’s the Ruston Bearcats.”
Hartwell said that while there may have been some adjustments in the Xs and Os of the gameplan at halftime, the biggest change for the Bearcats after coming out in the third quarter was more about their mindset.
“We didn’t really talk a lot about changes at halftime,” Hartwell said. “It was more of us just coming back out in the second half and executing the game plan. It was the same thing we had in the first but we just came out and did what we had to do.
“I tip my hat to (Southside), they came out strong to start. But all glory to God. It was a great game and we were able to get it under control in the second half.”
Bearcats offensive coordinator Earl Griffin called it refocusing.
“It was just a matter of refocusing,” Griffin said. “In the first half, it’s like we were just kind of waiting around, waiting for another guy to make a play. We just went in (to the locker room) at halftime and kind of hit the players with reality and told them that if we played the second half like we did the first half, they were going to be going home for good.
“Nobody was really complaining about anything. We did have a lot of seniors step up and talk, and I think reality kind of set in and we just came out in the second half and played focused football and that’s why we had the outcome we had.”
There was one adjustment that paid in the Bearcats’ favor as Griffin, seeing that the Sharks were playing an aggressive Cover 0 defense that left Southside without deep safety help and allowed some big plays like Hartwell’s long touchdown run as well as 46-yard flat pass to Jeremiah Freeman that Freeman took to the house.
“I knew that with them playing Cover 0 (defense) we were going to be able to take our shots,” Griffin said. “At halftime I just told Sam to settle down and relax and that we were going to go as far as he could take us, and he made some big plays for us in the second half, especially with his legs. Those run plays he made helped us out tremendously.”
Hartwell led the Bearcats with 49 rushing yards on nine carries, thanks in large part to RHS taking advantage of that aggressive defense from the Sharks
“We have some read plays for him where if they chase on the back end he can just pull it and run it,” Griffin said about Hartwell’s night rushing the ball. “I don’t want to run Sam like I ran Josh (Brantley) last year, but as long as they’re in Cover 0 they have to account for the quarterback. And they didn’t and Sam knew if it was there, take it. Sam was asking for the ball, too. He wanted to run it.”
Freeman was certainly glad to see his number called on the TD pass play.
“That was part of the gameplan,” Freeman said. “We knew they were going to come out in a certain formation (Cover 0) and we knew that play was going to hit. All I had to do was step up and make a play and I did it,”
Freeman finished with 31 rushing yards on seven carries and said he was proud to get into Ruston’s offense mix this week.
“It was really important for me to do that,” Freeman said, “It was a role I should have took on earlier in the year but some complications happened and some things happened and I just had to lean on my team and hope that they would help me out. I really put all of my trust in my O-line.”
That was something Griffin appreciated seeing.
Ruston’s Ahmad Hudson added a pair of receptions for nine yards, including a 6-yard touchdown catch.
“I want a ring on my finger at some point,” Hudson said. “We came out flat and we knew we were better than that. We just had to focus and take care of business. I just put my trust in our coaches,” Hudson said. “Some of the plays we often call didn’t work, so we changed things up a bit and those things worked. It’s just about how the game is going and where you want to take it and finding ways to make that happen.
“Last week we ran two tight ends and that worked. Tonight we tried it and it didn’t work. So you just change things up sometimes.”
Griffin also pointed out Hudson’s blocking on the night, especially on Freeman’s touchdown catch.
“That’s the unselfish part of him that sometimes gets overlooked,” Griffin said. “At 6-8 and 225 pounds, all he has to do sometimes is just get in the way. And he draws double-coverage like on the touchdown pass to Freeman where he just kind of got in the way (of an attempted tackler).”
Hudson admits his height sometimes can make it tough to try and effectively block significantly shorter defenders.
“It’s pretty tough sometimes being so tall and I’ve got to get low to make the blocks,” Hudson said. “But I trust (RHS offensive line coach Brian Beck) and what he has done with our O-line in the past. He’s made me a much better player over the course from last year to this year and I’m going to continue to put my trust in him. We see it’s working, so we’re not going to go away from it.“
