By Kyle Roberts
NEW ORLEANS — Two Louisiana football powerhouses — one from the North and one from the South — are currently working on an agreement to schedule a regular season matchup next year in what would be the first game of a home-and-home between Ruston High and Edna Karr.
“There’s a mutual respect for what each of our schools has been able to accomplish recently and with the background of both schools,” Ruston High Head Coach Jerrod Baugh said. “He’s played some out-of-state teams, and so have we, so we figured if we’re going to travel all over the place, then why not play each other? It would be something that gets a lot of interest from people, and it’s a game I think people would like to see.”
The Edna Karr Cougars are coming off their second consecutive state championship after beating St. Augustine in the Superdome this past weekend 49-14 for the 2025 Select, Division I title. Ruston recently appeared in its fourth consecutive state championship in New Orleans and fell 21-20 in a heartbreaker to Ouachita.
Baugh noted that talks between him and Cougar Head Coach Brice Brown are progressing toward a formal agreement, though the contract has yet to be signed between the schools. And while the venue for the 2026 matchup has not been finalized, there is discussion of holding the game in the Caesars Superdome.
“(Playing a regular season game in the Superdome) is something they did last year,” Baugh said. “Coach Brown said they had already checked into the possibility of using the Superdome again, so right now it’s working through concert schedules and other events they have — so they’re just waiting to hear back from the Superdome officials.”
The plan is for Edna Karr to make a return trip in 2027.
Edna Karr joins Neville, Catholic and Longview as Ruston’s projected non-district opponents for the first four weeks of the regular season. Both Neville and Catholic would be played in Hoss Garrett Stadium, while Longview and Edna Karr would both be on the road.
Currently, Week 5 is an open date, and Baugh said that he would be fine giving his Bearcats a bye-week before District 2-5A starts.
“The way it is right now, I don’t feel bad about (having a bye) going into district, as tough as our district has been,” Baugh said. “I can’t say for sure I would fill that date, but I don’t feel necessary given how tough our non-district schedule is shaping up to be.”
Ruston’s district slate will include the usual Ouachita, Pineville, West Monroe and Alexandria Senior High. Peabody Magnet out of the central Louisiana is slated to join District 2-5A next year as Neville will move down a classification to 4A.
The Bearcats are planning keep the Neville Tigers on the schedule for the 91st consecutive year.
