By Kyle Roberts
MONROE, La. — Ruston needed only 24 offensive plays to score seven touchdowns Saturday night, closing the 2026 Bayou Jamb with a 49-14 win over Evangel Christian Academy at Malone Stadium.
Junior running back Dalen Powell carried 10 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns in the two 12-minute halves, breaking a 78-yard run for the game’s final score. The Bearcats averaged 14.1 yards per play, gained 338 yards on those 24 snaps and scored on seven of their nine possessions while holding the ball for less than 10 minutes.
“I thought our kids came out ready to play,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “I think they were excited to get out here, and it’s as close to a game simulation as what you can get. We talked about that, talked about their preparation, making sure that we went through the steps that you need to if it were a real game, and I thought our kids did a really good job.”
Powell opened the scoring with a 20-yard run and added a 38-yarder later in the first half. Baugh credited the blocking in front of him, then the running back’s own weight.
“I thought our offensive line did good leaning on those guys, giving him some holes,” Baugh said. “They know that if we don’t have any bust and we get in front of some guys, that Dalen, it doesn’t take much space to be able to get through there. I was really pleased with how heavy he ran. Breaking some tackles and the yards after the first contact was a really big deal. And Dalen’s getting bigger, he’s getting a bigger body and all that. That’s what I really did like to see out of him.”
Ruston finished with 235 rushing yards on 19 attempts and five rushing touchdowns. Senior Kohl Gray scored from 11 yards out and senior Davis DeMoss punched one in from a yard. Senior quarterback Sam Hartwell was perfect on the night, completing all five of his attempts for 103 yards and two touchdowns — an 8-yarder to senior tight end Ahmad Hudson to close the first half and a 33-yarder to senior Josiah Morgan to open the second. Morgan caught three passes for 87 yards. Senior Joaquin Ramos made all seven extra points.
The Bearcats defense kept senior Evangel quarterback Peyton “Pop” Houston, the LSU commit Baugh had spent the week describing as a two-way problem, in front of it for most of the night. Houston completed 18-of-30 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown with an interception, and Ruston sacked him twice. Evangel finished with 17 net rushing yards, turned the ball over twice and did not reach the end zone through the air until Houston found Derrick Berry for 54 yards in the second half. Houston’s 26-yard run was the Eagles’ only first-half score.
Junior Aidan Adams led Ruston with three tackles and a sack. Senior Jerron Albritton added a sack, senior Jayden Anding intercepted a pass and senior Kadyn Gray recovered a fumble.
Baugh’s takeaway heading into Friday’s opener against Neville had nothing to do with the scoreboard.
“I don’t think we’re in as good a shape as what we need to be in,” Baugh said. “We’re going to have to push ourselves in practice, and it’s hard to get out and just run. We’ve got to build some stuff in practice, which we do.”
The short jamboree format, he said, hid a problem that a full game will not.
“If we’re having to take a bunch of snaps on offense and defense next week, we’re going to get gassed on one side of the ball,” Baugh said. “So hopefully our offense can keep the ball away from Neville as best we can to give our defense some breaks at times. But at the end of the day, this time of year, that’s what has some growing pains.”
Ruston opens the regular season at home against Neville on Sept. 4, the 101st meeting between the schools.
