By T. Scott Boatright
Knowing what they were going up against playing against West Point (Mississippi) High School, the Ruston Bearcats knew where the game would be won or lost Friday night at L.J. “Hoss” Garrett Stadium — up front.
And it was the play of Ruston’s offensive and defensive line that sparked the Bearcats to a 29-2 win over the Green Wave.
The trench warfare between the teams started early on.
West Point’s offensive line dominated the game’s opening drive, starting at its own 35-yard line and driving all the way to the Ruston 20 before the Bearcats’ D-line stuffed a fourth-and-seven run attempt for a first down for a two-yard loss.
Then it was time for Ruston’s offensive front wall to go to work.
Ruston drove 10 plays into the second quarter all the way down to the Green Wave’s 23 before Ruston offensive lineman Hunter Soto turned what could be considered the play of the game.
Bearcats running back Kohl Gray rushed for 12 yards before losing the ball at the end of the run at the West Point 12-yard line.
But the ball fell right in front of senior tight end Hunter Soto, who collapsed right onto it to maintain possession for Ruston.
“I praised him when he got to the sideline,” Griffin said. “Soto just somehow found a way to be in the right place at the right time. I’m not going to say we got mad at Kohl, but Kohl’s a running back who shouldn’t be fumbling at all. Luckily, he looked down and fell on the ball. I didn’t know who got it until (Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh) said, ‘Soto was in the right place at the right time.’
“He wasn’t supposed to be there, but he was in the right place at the right time. And I’m glad he was.”
Ruston averaged 6.7 yards per carry, rushing for 187 yards and three scores against the Green Wave, a face not lost on Griffin.
“They ARE the most important people on the team,” Griffin said of his offensive line. “They don’t get the recognition, and the glitz and glamor as the running backs, the tight ends and receivers, and the quarterbacks do, but they are the most important players on the team.
“If one of those guys make a mistake, the guys behind them are going to pay for it. They enable us to do whatever we want to do, whether it’s running or passing the ball. Hats off to those guys. We didn’t have Logan Ashley, our left guard, this week, but Braylin Brown stepped up and didn’t miss a beat. I couldn’t be more proud of those guys.”
Griffin said the Ruston coaching staff knew that it would likely be a game of long drives where time of possession mattered.
“The coordinators met on Sunday and we kind of knew that West Point plays keep away football,” Griffin said. “They play with that old-school mentality — three yards and a cloud of dust. We knew we were going to be limited as far as possessions, but Coach Kyle (defensive coordinator Kyle Williams) said his guys were going to do their part. We knew we had to sustain that first drive because our defense was out there so long on the opening drive of the game and needed a break. They needed some time.
“And by us — (the RHS offensive and defensive coaches) communicating with each other and the head coach — we knew we had to be on the same page. We knew what we were expecting. We told our offense they were going to be limited on possessions just because West Point likes to run the clock and keep the opposing offense off the field. So, I’m just glad we got the opportunity to get this W.”
On the other side of the ball, Ruston’s defense held the Green Wave’s rush-heavy offense to 3.4 yards per carry, a stat Bearcats Defensive Coordinator Marcus Yanez was proud of.
“The thing is, a lot was being required of our defensive line this week,” Yanez said. “”We basically had to go all out with our personnel — every D-lineman available. Every D-lineman got work this week because of what West Point did offensively. They play to wear you down.
“People can look at their record all they want to, but that’s a really good football team that’s been going up against some good competition. What they do offensively, they’ve been doing. And it’s gotten them to many state championship games over past years. They know what they’re doing over there. They do a good job and they’ve got the people to do it.”
The only big play West Point made all night came on its final drive of the game, it looked like the Green Wave offense would score their first offensive points of the game when a West Point running back broke free on a 74-yard touchdown run down the left sideline.
But the play was wiped out by a holding call, bringing the ball back to the West Point 16-yard line.
“I was really happy to see that flag,” Yanez said. “God was with us. But again, that was a testament to what they do on offense. It could happen at any point in time. They did a really good job of keeping our offense all the field and keeping our defense on the field.
“Once we started to win the first downs I think that’s when things started turning our way a little bit.”
That also came at a time where Ruston held a commanding lead and the Bearcats had their reserves on the field on both sides of the ball.
“We had our second team (defense) in, but a lot of those guys we had to call up from our JV team to kind of give us some depth,” Yanez said. “They had a chance to work against that particular offense all week. They got those reps. So, it wasn’t like it was unfamiliar to them.
‘I’m just glad we were able to take care of our business in the first part of the game to give those guys the opportunity to get some reps.”
