A Grambling man gave officers a false name after the car he was riding in crashed into a Ruston Police Department patrol unit. He was arrested on three outstanding warrants and later accused of bringing suspected crack cocaine into the parish jail, according to an arrest affidavit.
Chase Maryland, 20, was arrested by Ruston police at 4:33 a.m. Sept. 19.
Officers were called to Apple Street at South Farmerville Street about a fight. When they arrived, they found five people sitting in a vehicle that had crashed into a marked Ruston police unit.
Maryland was sitting behind the front passenger seat and told an officer his name was Marcus Howard. The officer tried to find a photo of Howard but could not confirm who he was. Maryland was detained and placed in the back of a patrol unit.
After some time, the officer asked again for his real name, and Maryland gave it. Dispatch said he had several outstanding warrants.
Maryland was taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center and booked on the warrants and a charge of resisting an officer. During booking, deputies found a small white baggie holding a white powdery substance that looked like crack cocaine. He was also charged with introduction of contraband into a penal facility.
The warrants include a Ruston City Court bench warrant with a $2,000 bond, a Ruston Police Department warrant with a $1,000 bond and a 3rd Judicial District Court warrant with a $150,000 bond. Bond on the resisting charge was set at $1,000.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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RUSTON — Six days after a 21-14 loss to Edna Karr at the Caesars Superdome, Ruston returns home to face Catholic of Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. Friday at James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium.
The No. 2 Bearcats (2-1) rallied from a 14-0 deficit Saturday to tie No. 1 Eda Karr before the Cougars scored the winning touchdown with 9:31 to play. Catholic comes to Ruston at 1-2.
Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said the Saturday trip to New Orleans served its purpose, and while he would have loved to snap the Cougars’ long winning streak, there was still plenty of learned opportunities in the loss.
“Just like it is any other time that we play a really good football team — and we’ve played three of them and we’re fixing to play four — I think doing that this early in the year, it was really productive,” Baugh said. “I thought it was a good trip. I think the kids handled it well. We were there on time, good on the bus, handled getting into the Superdome. So there shouldn’t have been anything that caught us off guard about that trip.”
The game itself was another matter.
“Obviously, playing a really good football team, you have to be at the top of your game, and we weren’t,” Baugh said. “We can’t spot a team like that 14 (in the first quarter), and then we rally back and get it tied up.”
The moment that stayed with Baugh came on Ruston’s first possession of the second half — a drive the Bearcats kept alive with a fake punt.
“I think the missed opportunity that probably sticks out the most to me, that I thought would have changed the outlook of the ball game, was when we had a good drive going the first series of the second half and it kind of fizzled out,” Baugh said. “We faked the punt to extend it, and we have first-and-10 on their 25-yard line, and we don’t get any points out of it.”
A lead there, Baugh said, could have put Karr in unfamiliar territory.
“Karr’s won a lot of ball games in a row. Won a lot of ball games, period,” Baugh said. “I don’t know that those kids that are playing have ever been behind in a ball game. How do they respond to that? And if they have been behind, it hasn’t been much. So I think if we’re able to get some points, and for sure a touchdown, and then they get the football and they’re trying to figure out what to do, it just changes the way the ball game is going to be played.”
Baugh pointed to the high snap on a Karr punt in the final seconds, which Ruston recovered at the Karr 16, as evidence of what that pressure can do.
“I think that’s something that’s probably really uncharacteristic of those guys, to make that mistake,” Baugh said. “But when you’re under the pressure of that, that’s when errors are made.”
Ruston also let a goal-line stand go to waste with the game still tied. The Bearcats went three plays and out, one of them a penalty on Ruston, and Karr took over at the Ruston 33 after the punt.
“I think our defense gave our offense an opportunity, making the stop on the 1-yard line,” Baugh said. “Have that big stop, have an opportunity to push the ball out of there and at least be able to punt it to the other end, and we can’t get a first down. The defense has got to go right back out there with a short field to defend. You just can’t do that against really good football teams.”
Three games in, Baugh said his team has not yet put together four full quarters on any given night. The defense has come closest, he said, and outside of Karr’s opening series was solid Saturday. The offense has been the area where he wants to see improvement.
“You can’t score the ball every series; I’m not crazy enough to think that,” Baugh said. “But I feel like you can be productive in drives and not score the football. The three-and-outs, the no-first-down series, are just really unacceptable with the guys that we have out there. We’ve just got to develop more consistency with what we’re doing.”
And when you play the type of schedule that Baugh’s teams are used to, the opponents have had something to do with that, as well. Still, his expectations for his team are to minimize errors and capitalize on opportunities.
“Once you go back and look at the mistakes, a ton of those are self-inflicted,” Baugh said. “You have one that’s self-inflicted, with a penalty or a blown assignment, and then the next one, they make a big play. Well, you’re not going to move in football. So we’ve got to get all of that stuff ironed out and make sure that we’re making improvements on those things, and that’s what we talk to the kids about.”
Catholic, Baugh said, looks much like the team Ruston played in 2020. He said the Bears’ playoff loss to Karr last season was the Cougars’ closest game of the year.
Baugh said the challenge starts with sorting out what Catholic is showing before the snap.
“They’re very multiple on offense. They use a lot of different personnel groupings, and then they shuffle them formationally a lot of different ways,” Baugh said. “You have to be on top of your game as far as recognizing jersey numbers, because they’ll jump a tight end around. It’ll look like he may be in an offensive line position. They’ll flip a bunch of receivers over to a side, some eligible, some not.”
That puts the burden on the Ruston defense to get the front, the coverage and the eligible receivers right on every snap.
“And then you throw all those good players out there that they’ve got, and that makes it really difficult,” Baugh said. “I’ve been really impressed with their running back. He’s really, really good with the ball in his hands. The quarterback operates everything and gets the ball to the right people, and their receivers can catch it, run with it and score at any point.”
Baugh said the Bears are just as sound on the other side of the ball.
“They do a good job of picking and choosing when they’re going to bring some pressure on you,” Baugh said. “You can tell they’re really well coached and know what they’re doing.”
Ruston will likely be without junior running back Dalen Powell, who ran for 119 yards and both Ruston touchdowns against Karr.
“It’s been a day-to-day deal. It’s progressively gotten better, but I don’t think he’s going to be well enough to see any action on Friday,” Baugh said. “It’s just too fast out of the gate. I think he’d love to play. He’s tried to work his way into that. But I just don’t think it’s been enough time.”
The Saturday game in New Orleans cost the Bearcats their normal weekend routine. Ruston brought its players back Sunday afternoon to handle what it usually does on Saturday and get back on schedule for the week.
The squeeze comes again next week, when Ruston plays on Thursday and loses a practice day. Tuesday is usually the Bearcats’ longest and most physical practice, and Wednesday runs back through the same work at a faster pace with fewer reps.
“We’ll lose a day of practice going into the game on Thursday, which means you really have to be on top of your game whenever you do your install on Monday,” Baugh said. “Usually we try to keep things as simple as we can, game-plan wise, going into a short week like that, because you don’t have another day.”
Losing Wednesday, Baugh said, means losing the chance to clean up Tuesday’s mistakes.
“It’s a big day for making sure that we’re ironed out on everything we messed up on Tuesday, and you just lose that opportunity to get that straight,” Baugh said. “That’s why we’ll stay pretty basic as to the things we’ve already been doing, and hopefully the kids have retained a bunch of that going into the short week.”
Lincoln Prep players celebate a touchdown that tied Thursday night’s game at 20-20 late in the third quarter. (Photo by T. Scott Boatright)
By T. Scott Boatright
Momentum can be a fickle thing.
And in a back-and-forth game Thursday night at Jonesboro-Hodge’s Caldwell Peacock Stadium, momentum danced back and forth between the sidelines until late in the game, when things simply snowballed downhill for Lincoln Preparatory as the Panthers fell 42-20 to the Tigers.
The game was tied at 20-20 with a little more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter when a bad punt snap set Jonesboro-Hodge up in prime field position at the Lincoln Prep 36-yard line.
Five plays later, Tigers quarterback King Campbell connected with Channing Gray on a 27-yard scoring strike before hitting Gray again on a two-point conversion pass that put Jonesboro-Hodge up 28-20 with 11 minutes remaining in the contest.
Lincoln Prep was held to a three-and-out series on the ensuing possession before the Tigers blasted Lincoln Prep punter Karmelo Goins and blocked the attempt, setting Jonesboro-Hodge up at the Panthers’ 8-yard line.
But the Panthers recovered a fumble on the next play and pushed the ball out to their own 41-yard line, where on fourth-and-two, quarterback Jabari Levingston lost the ball to give JHHS possession at the Lincoln Prep 41.
Five plays later, Campbell hit Tysen Burks on a 24-yard touchdown pass that pushed the JHHS advantage to 34-20 with 2:51 remaining.
On Lincoln Prep’s next play from scrimmage, Levingston was sacked in the end zone for a safety that stretched the Tigers’ advantage to 36-20 with 2:35 left on the clock.
The dagger came on the next play from scrimmage as Jonesboro-Hodge running back Lontre’vious Burns broke loose on a 47-yard scoring scamper with 2:18 remaining in the contest.
Panthers coach Chaunce Davison said it is a sign that his team needs to focus and learn to put in a full week of focused practice before staying focused for all four quarters of a game, from start to finish.
“We just need to learn how to play football and learn to play through adversity,” Davison said. “I see now we’re going to have adversity pretty much all year. We’ve got to play through that, regardless of whatever it might be.”
Before losing focus in the final stanza, Lincoln Prep put up a fight, trading blows with the Tigers for the first three quarters of the contest.
Jonesboro-Hodge struck first, taking advantage of a blown coverage with Campbell hitting a wide-open Jamarlon Johnson to go on top 6-0 at the 8:57 mark of the first quarter.
Lincoln Prep countered with a 50-yard scoring drive, with Levingston firing a screen pass that Aiden Ferguson hauled in and took 32 yards to paydirt to tie things up at 6-6 with 6:21 left on the opening-quarter clock.
A little more than three minutes later, the Tigers punched back, scoring on a short touchdown run and adding a two-point conversion that pushed Jonesboro-Hodge’s lead to 14-6.
But Lincoln Prep again quickly countered with Levingston hitting Josiah Spann on a 58-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14 with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
The score remained knotted at 14-14 at halftime before the Panthers battled back with a slow and solid 50-yard drive culminating with Levingston’s 1-yard touchdown run that put Lincoln Prep on top 20-14.
This time it was Jonesboro-Hodge’s turn to counter, with the Tigers mounting a 56-yard drive ending with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 20-20 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.
Penalties became problematic for the Panthers at various points of the game, something Davison wants to see his team improve on.
“We were just trying to keep (Jonesboro-Hodge) off of us,” Davison said. “I thought we were doing a pretty good job of it but it got away from us. We’ve got to practice a full week. We can’t let anything distract us. We’ve got to come out here and play a full game. We didn’t play a full game. We didn’t coach a full game. We’ve got to put together a full week and full game.”
Case Phillips is part of the Cedar Creek potent rushing attack. (Photo by Darrell James)
By Malcolm Butler
For the first time in a while, there is some outside noise surrounding the Cedar Creek football program.
The Cougars are undefeated, and they are coming off three convincing wins.
As a result of those wins, Cedar Creek found itself ranked No. 10 in the state this week.
Creek coach Jacob Angevine appreciates what the recognition means for a program that has come a long way over the past two years. He also wants his players to forget about it.
“We don’t really want to pay attention to any of the outside noise,” Angevine said. “We just want to keep focused on what we’re doing. We talked as a unit right when we started fall camp that we know the talent that we have in the room, and we really don’t need anybody else to tell us what we already know.
“We just have to go prove it week in and week out.”
The Cougars (3-0) will get their next opportunity Friday night when they host Rayville (1-2) at 7 p.m. at Origin Bank Stadium.
Cedar Creek has opened the season with wins over Delhi Charter, St. Frederick and Beekman Charter, including last week’s 42-12 homecoming victory over Beekman.
But Angevine said the message hasn’t changed with the wins — or with the Cougars’ newfound spot in the state rankings.
“It kind of goes into the mindset that we have — just being 0-0 every single week,” Angevine said. “Whatever we did last week, it doesn’t really matter. It’s moving forward and focusing on the task at hand.
“We’ve had a really good practice this week. I hope it translates into Friday. I’m confident that it will. That’s just been kind of the mindset, and I’ve really liked how the kids have taken it, especially those seniors. They’ve really bought into it.”
Cedar Creek’s identity through the first three weeks hasn’t been difficult to identify: run the football.
The Cougars rushed for nearly 400 yards in last week’s win, using a physical offensive front and a stable of runners to wear down Beekman.
That was never more evident than on the opening possession of the second half. Leading 14-6, Cedar Creek took the kickoff at its own 19-yard line and marched 81 yards on 13 plays, 11 of them runs, for a touchdown.
Sophomore Payton Harris is one of the state’s leaders in rushing, totaling 677 yards and 10 scores through just three games.
Angevine doesn’t expect that philosophy to change. But he believes Creek’s success on the ground should eventually create more opportunities for the Cougars’ passing game.
“That’s obviously still the identity of our football team,” Angevine said. “I think everybody knows that. But the more that we can run the football, the more it’ll pack those guys into the box, and we’re really confident in the guys that we have on the outside as well.
“Once we’re able to use them a little bit more, I think it’s going to make us a little bit more dangerous to defend.”
The Cougars will also get healthier this week.
Angevine said Ed Henry is expected to return, along with Aiden Haddox, who was taking first-team snaps before suffering an injury during a preseason scrimmage.
“We’ve got some guys that are coming back healthy this week,” Angevine said. “Things are really looking up for us on both sides of the ball. But again, it’s just continuing to get better at what we do and believing in our system.”
Defensively, the Cougars have been equally impressive during their unbeaten start.
Rayville enters Friday night with a win over General Trass and losses to Bastrop and Caldwell Parish.
The 1-2 record isn’t fooling Angevine.
He believes Ravyille will present Cedar Creek with its biggest physical and athletic challenge of the young season.
“They’re fast,” Angevine said. “This is probably the most athletic team that we’ve played so far. I think it might be the biggest roster that we’ve seen thus far as well.
“They’re huge up front. It’s another big line that we’re going to have to keep our pad level low on. We’re going to have to rise up once again.”
That’s exactly the type of challenge Angevine wanted when Cedar Creek put together its schedule.
“I wanted some of these bigger schools,” he said. “It’s really going to test us and push us to our limits.”
Each Monday through Friday, the Lincoln Parish Journal will post a list of non-for-profit upcoming events happening in the parish. If you would like to add your event to this list or advertise your for-profit events, please email us at lpjnewsla@gmail.com.
Friday, Sept. 25 Dubach Chicken Festival 6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball (TAC) 7 p.m.: RHS football 7 p.m.: Cedar Creek football
Saturday, Sept. 26 Dubach Chicken Festival 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Park Fest 2026 (Lincoln Parish Park) 11 a.m.: Dubach Legends Fundraiser/Elvis Impersonator (Scott Hamilton Warehouse, East Hico Street; doors open at 10 a.m., hamburger lunch at 11 a.m., show at 11:30 a.m.) 6:30 p.m.: LA Tech volleyball (TAC)
Monday,, Sept. 28 11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome 1 p.m.: Ruston Duplicate Bridge Club meeting (Presbyterian Church, 212 N. Bonner St.) 6 p.m.: Toastmasters International meeting (Louisiana Center for the Blind, 101 South Trenton Street) 6-9 p.m.: Creative Meetups (Creatives at Work, 301 N. Trenton)
Wednesday, Sept. 30 7-8 a.m.: Veterans Coffee Club (PJ’s Coffee) 11:30 a.m.: Lunch on Us (Presbyterian Church, 212 North Bonner Street., Ruston) — everyone welcome 12-1 p.m.: Rotary Club meeting (Historic Fire Station)
Thursday, Oct. 1 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Kiwanis Club lunch and program (Trinity Methodist Church fellowship hall; Anyone is welcome to come to our meeting,please notify Richard Hamilton of your attendance. 318-518-2121) 1 p.m.: Ruston Duplicate Bridge Club meeting (Presbyterian Church, 212 N. Bonner St.) 6 p.m.: Southern A’Chord Chorus rehearsal (Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, 212 N. Bonner St.; open to all women singers)
Friday, Oct. 2 6-8:30 p.m.: Pumpkins in the Park (Railroad Park) 7 p.m.: Lincoln Prep football
Saturday, Oct. 3 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Ruston Farmers Market 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Board Game Day (Depot) 2 p.m.: GSU football
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Louisiana Tech spent the first month of the season preparing for this weekend.
Now, according to Bulldogs coach Scott Mattera, it is “go time.”
Tech opens its first season of Sun Belt Conference play when the Bulldogs host Southern Miss for a two-match series at the Thomas Assembly Center. The teams meet Friday at 6 p.m. and again Saturday at 1 p.m., with both matches available on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs enter conference play 7-7 after wrapping up their nonconference schedule last weekend at the Wildcat Classic.
Tech closed nonconference play with one of its best offensive performances in years, hitting .424 in a 3-0 sweep of Prairie View A&M. The Bulldogs recorded 41 kills with only five errors on 85 attacks, producing their highest team hitting percentage in 14 years.
Freshman middle blocker Tyra McKinnie finished with a career-high 12 kills on 17 attacks with only one error in the win. She totaled 35 kills while hitting .544 during the tournament and enters Sun Belt play ranked ninth among qualified league hitters with a .346 hitting percentage.
Libero Riley Steubing leads the Sun Belt with 4.96 digs per set, tied for sixth nationally, while setter Sydnee Carter has recorded double-digit assists in every match this season.
Tech will be tested immediately by a Southern Miss team that comes to Ruston with a 9-2 record, the best nonconference winning percentage in the Sun Belt.
“They’re good,” Mattera said. “I think a lot of people think they’re kind of a sleeper in the conference.”
Mattera is familiar with several of the Golden Eagles from his time coaching at Alamo Volleyball Club in San Antonio, including Tarah Yunes and Lillie Johnson. He also knew Southern Miss standout Sadie McAda from clinics in the area.
McAda averages 4.03 kills per set, second in the Sun Belt, and enters the weekend with 990 career kills.
Southern Miss setter Allie Hazelwood leads the league with 10.54 assists per set and ranks 19th nationally, while Johnson gives the Golden Eagles another weapon in the middle.
“She’s super crafty,” Mattera said of Johnson. “She’s a really intelligent volleyball player.”
Southern Miss leads the Sun Belt in service aces per set at 2.03 and digs per set at 15.77. Tech ranks fourth in the league and 38th nationally with 1.91 aces per set.
Mattera said Tech’s ability to serve effectively and keep Southern Miss from operating comfortably in system will be important.
“We’ve got to serve well,” Mattera said. “We’ve got to spread our offense and attack the areas they give us.”
The weekend also introduces Tech to the Sun Belt’s Friday-Saturday conference format as the Bulldogs begin navigating their new league.
And it begins against one of the league’s hottest teams.
“I think it’s going to be a heck of a match,” Mattera said. “It’s going to be an exciting weekend.”
Choudrant resident Sam Burns gestures to the crowd moments after sinking a pivotal birdie putt on the 13th hole Thursday on the opening day of the Presidents Cup competition.
By Doug Ireland, Journal Sports
MEDINAH, Ill. – Scottie Scheffler sealed the victory, then said his partner Sam Burns saved the day.
Just after the International duo of Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im of South Korea had broken through to take a 1-up lead with Im’s birdie on the 13th hole, Burns pulled his 8-iron and turned things back America’s way in the opening four-ball match of the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club.
His 173-yard shot stopped two feet, five inches away on the par-3 hole, and the kick-in putt squared the match and erased their only deficit of the day. Scheffler sank a 4-foot par putt on the 17th hole to lift the Americans into a lead, then saved par with a near-perfect pitch out of the sand on the last hole, ending six inches from the cup as the Internationals faced a 40-foot par putt in a desperate try to halve the match.
It didn’t fall and the Internationals did. The USA closed the afternoon with a 3-2 edge heading into today’s foursomes competition.
American captain Brandt Snedeker has paired the longtime friends together again, this time against Corey Conners and Cup rookie Nick Taylor. Tee time is 12:05 in the first of five alternate shot matches, with Golf Channel carrying the competition. NBC picks up the weekend coverage.
In an on-course interview moments after Thursday’s match, Scheffler gave Burns his due.
“Both teams got off to pretty hot starts today and we pulled off a little bit after that, but Sam, I felt like he had probably the shot of the match there on 14,” said the World No. 1 Dallas native. “We lost 13 to go one down, and then he went in there to a couple feet, and we were able to square up the match. That was really a big moment for us as a team.”
Burns, a Shreveport native who now lives in Choudrant, was the USA’s best statistical performer Thursday, the only one of the 10 Americans to post positive numbers in each of the “Shots Gained” categories.
The 30-year-old former LSU All-American sank a 17-foot birdie putt at the 9th to keep the match even. Lee and Im then missed three straight birdie looks that would have given them their first lead of the day before finally converting on the 13th to nab a short-lived advantage.
“We knew it was gonna be tough,” said Burns. “These matches always seem to be close. It’s a couple shots here and there. It’s always a good feeling when you’ve got this guy by your side. You know, he’s gonna be in every hole, and he’s gonna compete as hard as he can.”
It was the first win in five tries for Burns and Scheffler pairing at either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, and the first time they’ve played together in international competition since 2023.
Ervin Livingston, Jr Saturday 10/26/1946 – Wednesday 09/23/2026 Family Gathering: Tuesday 09/29/2026 2:00pm at King’s Funeral Home Visitation: Tuesday 09/29/2026 3:00pm to 6:00pm at King’s Funeral Home Celebration of Life: Wednesday 09/30/2026 10:00am at King’s Funeral Home Burial: Wednesday 09/30/2026, Mt. Harmony Baptist Church, 210 Mt. Harmony Church Road, Ruston
Vontella D. White Friday 04/30/1982 — Saturday 09/12/2026 Visitation: Friday 09/25/2026 3:00pm to 6:00pm at King’s Funeral Home Funeral Service: Saturday 09/26/2026 11:00am, Zion Traveler Baptist Church, 1201 Martin Luther King Drive, Ruston Interment: Saturday 09/26/2026 Following Service, Mt. Calm Cemetery, 566 Par Road, Simsboro
The young town had grown into Lincoln Parish’s commercial center, with hotels, grocery stores, restaurants, shops, offices, and other businesses crowding its downtown streets. But Ruston had grown faster than the infrastructure needed to protect it.
That became painfully apparent in 1905.
Fire struck again and again that year. A February blaze wiped out half of a principal business block. In May, the town’s printing office burned. In November, two hotels were destroyed, another fire damaged the Louisiana Industrial Institute, and yet another destroyed thousands of dollars’ worth of lumber.
For Ruston, 1905 was the year of fire.
The town had a fire department, but barely by modern standards. Ruston’s earliest equipment was a two-wheeled tank with a hand pump, stored outside the mayor’s office and pushed to fires by whatever manpower was available.
The Ruston Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1897, coinciding with the arrival of running water. The town purchased a horse-drawn hose and ladder wagon and constructed a small station—really nothing more than a stable for the wagon and its two horses. Ruston would not obtain a motorized fire truck until 1915, and even that truck could not pump water.
That was the fire protection system facing the flames in 1905.
Half a block gone
The year’s first major disaster came before dawn on February 2.
At about 6:30 a.m., fire was discovered in the store of Freyer & Goldberg on Trenton Street. A strong north wind quickly carried the flames through the block.
Newspapers across Louisiana reported the destruction of “one-half of one of the principal business blocks” in Ruston. Among the businesses lost were J. Gordon’s dry goods store, Freyer & Goldberg, H.F. Fort’s grocery, the Lincoln Hotel, and the Ruston Grocery Company. George A. McElroy’s fire insurance office was also destroyed, along with businesses operated by B.H. Miller, J.H. Braswell, W.H. Hearn, T.G. Hardin, J.S. O’Neal, and the Reed Music Company.
Estimates placed the damage between $35,000 and $40,000, with much of the property insured.
The Farmerville Gazette noted the February blaze followed another large Ruston fire just two months earlier, in December.
“This big fire coming so soon after the one which visited Ruston in December makes it pretty hard on the town,” the newspaper observed.
It would get worse.
The Howe Press burns
On Sunday morning, May 7, another alarm sounded. This time it was the Howe Press, Ruston’s printing firm.
The fire gutted the building. A new printing press was badly damaged, two platen presses were left in poor condition, and a large quantity of book and job work already set in type and ready for the press was lost.
The Gazette reported the fire department had extinguished a small blaze at the printing office Saturday night. Firemen believed the danger had passed and left, but early the next morning, the fire returned.
The newspaper reported flames were raging when the fire was discovered and had already gained enough headway that the fire company could not save the building. The loss was placed at about $8,000, with $3,500 insurance.
Investigators believed the first fire had been caused accidentally when a firecracker was thrown onto an electrical wire entering the building. The wire apparently shorted and burned, with smoldering material possibly remaining inside the structure after firefighters departed.
It was an unforgiving era for firefighters. Buildings contained abundant wood, paper, cloth, and other combustible materials. Fighting a fire depended on prompt discovery, getting horses and equipment to the scene, finding a usable water supply, and applying enough water before the flames spread.
Ruston’s firefighters were volunteers working with equipment that would appear primitive only a generation later.
November brings more flames
If Ruston hoped the worst had passed by autumn, November proved otherwise. On November 7, fire broke out at the Atkinson House about 1 p.m., apparently originating in the hotel’s kitchen.
The Atkinson House, occupied by J.A. Atkinson and his family, was destroyed. So was the neighboring Borden Hotel, owned by Mrs. Webb of Monroe and occupied by Mrs. H.G. Chapman. Most of the furniture and belongings were saved, although much of it was badly damaged.
This time, the newspaper specifically credited the firefighters.
“Good work by the firemen saved the adjoining houses,” the Times-Picayune reported.
Three days later, fire struck again.
On November 10, fire destroyed one of J.R. Randolph’s dry kilns and approximately 6,000 feet of lumber. The loss was estimated at $2,000, with no insurance.
A second fire that day consumed a residence belonging to the Industrial Institute. Only about $600 worth of timber and water pipe stored nearby was saved.
That wasn’t all. Another November report noted fire had done slight damage to the main building of the Louisiana Industrial Institute, today’s Louisiana Tech University.
By then, fire was becoming almost routine news in Ruston.
A town ahead of its fire protection
Ruston had not ignored fire protection. Running water arrived and the volunteer department was organized in 1897. But the town was growing faster than its firefighting technology and municipal infrastructure.
A hose wagon was useful only if firefighters could reach an adequate water source with sufficient pressure. Even much larger Louisiana cities struggled with that problem during this period.
Its horse-drawn hose and ladder wagon depended upon the town’s developing water system. The department had no motorized apparatus and no fire engine capable of carrying its own modern pumping system. Those improvements were still years away.
The vulnerability partly explains an architectural decision made at Ruston’s beginning. Along what was known as Brick Row—now Park Avenue—mandatory masonry construction offered considerably better protection than the wooden commercial buildings common in young Southern railroad towns. Ruston’s earliest firefighting capability was rudimentary, making a fire in a frame building particularly dangerous.
The February 1905 fire showed what happened when flames, wooden buildings, and wind came together: a blaze beginning in one store raced through much of a business block.
Yet the November hotel fire demonstrated the other side of the story. Ruston’s volunteer firefighters managed to keep flames that destroyed two hotels from consuming adjoining buildings.
They were learning, and so was the town.
Ruston’s fire protection would gradually improve. The department became motorized in 1915. In 1924, the city purchased an American-LaFrance pumper, finally giving firefighters a motorized apparatus capable of pumping water. Two years later, Ruston built the Central Fire Station and established its first full-time fire department.
Today, the contrast could hardly be greater. Ruston’s Fire Department operates from three stations with more than 60 full-time personnel, and the department holds a Class 1 fire-protection rating, the highest classification recognized by the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana.
That modern system grew from much humbler beginnings — horses, hose wagons, volunteers, and a young municipal water system.
And few years demonstrated the need for something better quite like 1905.
In February, half a downtown business block burned.
In May, the printing office burned.
In November, two hotels burned. A dry kiln burned. An Industrial Institute residence burned. The Institute itself suffered fire damage.
Ruston was growing quickly.
In 1905, its fire protection was still trying to catch up.
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If you asked me to describe how I approach most decisions in one word, that would be it.
Balance.
I am an entrepreneur at heart. I started my first unofficial business when I was 13 years old, and for much of my younger life, my mindset was simple:
Grow. Grow. Grow.
Build something bigger. Accomplish more. Keep pushing forward.
Over the years, though, I learned an important lesson: bigger isn’t always better.
When something becomes bigger simply for the sake of being bigger, eventually something else has to be sacrificed to support that growth.
I don’t think I fully understood that until I had a family.
I got married. We had our first daughter, then our second. School, ballgames, activities, work, businesses, responsibilities, and everything else that comes with raising a family began filling the calendar.
My perspective started to change.
Success wasn’t simply about building the biggest business or accomplishing the most.
It was about building a life that allowed me to be present for the things that mattered most.
And being present requires something every one of us has in limited supply:
Time.
Time may be one of the most valuable things we have. Some of us realize that early. Others realize it later than we wish we had.
Those who know me personally know that I rarely sit still.
I have what some might call an addiction to pickleball, I enjoy spending time on the golf course, and most recently I’ve developed an obsession with learning to pilot my way through the skies.
But those things are only a small part of a pretty full life.
First and foremost, I’m dedicated to my family and the seemingly endless array of school activities, sporting events, commitments, and everything else that comes with raising a family.
I also have businesses that require my full attention to thrive, businesses responsible for supporting our employees, serving our clients, and providing for our family.
Somehow, I usually still manage to find room in the day.
There’s nothing magical or mystical about that.
I’ve simply learned to be organized. To be punctual. To respect other people’s time as much as my own. To prioritize what matters. To make decisions and move forward.
And, most importantly, I’ve learned how to create balance.
Balance between business and family.
Balance between responsibility and enjoyment.
Balance between working toward tomorrow and actually being present today.
I don’t always get it perfect. Nobody does. But I’ve learned that when something important needs my attention, the answer usually isn’t:
“I don’t have time.”
The better question is:
“How do I make time for what matters?”
And that brings me to Choudrant.
You might be wondering what entrepreneurship, family, pickleball, golf, flying airplanes, and managing a very full calendar have to do with my decision to run for Alderman for the Village of Choudrant.
For me, the answer is simple.
Everything.
Because the same principle I’ve learned to apply to my family, my businesses, and my life is the principle I believe should guide many of the decisions we make about the future of Choudrant:
Balance.
More than a decade ago, my family chose Choudrant as the place we wanted to call home.
My oldest daughter started at Choudrant Elementary and recently graduated from Choudrant High School. My youngest daughter is still making her way through Choudrant schools today.
Over those years, we haven’t simply lived here.
We’ve built homes here. We’ve built businesses and business relationships here. We’ve built friendships here.
Most importantly, we’ve built our life here.
And we chose Choudrant for a very simple reason:
Because Choudrant is Choudrant.
We didn’t move here hoping it would eventually become somewhere else.
We chose it because of what it already was, a small town where you can know your neighbors, build relationships, be part of a community, and be proud to raise your family.
That’s worth protecting.
But protecting what makes Choudrant special doesn’t mean refusing to change.
Some people believe Choudrant needs more growth and new opportunities.
They aren’t necessarily wrong.
Others would rather keep Choudrant exactly the way it is.
They aren’t necessarily wrong either.
I’ve learned that most important decisions have more than one side. The challenge is rarely choosing between someone who is completely right and someone who is completely wrong.
The challenge is finding balance.
Times change. Technology changes. Families change. Businesses change. Communities change.
And whether we like it or not, Choudrant will change too.
If we refuse to adapt at all, we risk falling behind and eventually losing some of the very things we’re trying so hard to protect.
But if we chase growth simply for the sake of growth, we risk losing the character that made people choose Choudrant in the first place.
Neither extreme is the answer.
I certainly don’t want Choudrant chasing whatever the next town is doing simply because they’re doing it.
I want Choudrant to become an even better Choudrant.
That’s the balance I want to bring to the Board of Aldermen.
I believe Choudrant should:
GROW BETTER. NOT JUST BIGGER.
Growing better means being intentional.
It means taking care of what we already have while planning responsibly for what we’ll need tomorrow.
It means making thoughtful decisions about infrastructure, development, businesses, services, recreation, and opportunities without sacrificing the small-town character that makes Choudrant special.
It means understanding that sometimes the right answer will be yes.
Sometimes the right answer will be no.
And sometimes the answer might be, “That’s a good idea, but let’s find a better way to do it.”
As an Alderman, one question I believe should consistently be part of those decisions is:
Does this make Choudrant a better place to live, raise a family, build a business, and call home?
If the answer is yes, let’s find a responsible way forward.
If the answer is no, then bigger alone isn’t a good enough reason to do it.
My vision isn’t for Choudrant to become another city.
Actually, it’s almost the opposite.
I want Choudrant to become the kind of small town that other communities look at and say:
“That’s what a small town can be.”
A community that holds onto its identity while continuing to improve.
A place where our children can grow up with the same sense of community we value today, and hopefully one day decide they want to raise their own families here.
A place people want to visit.
A place where the right businesses can invest and succeed.
A place families want to call home.
And a place where those who have lived here for decades can still look around and recognize the Choudrant they’ve always loved.
We don’t have to choose between progress and preservation.
We can have both.
We just have to find the right balance.
Preserve what makes us Choudrant.
Improve what can make us better.
Grow when growth makes sense.
That’s balance.
That’s why I’m running for Alderman.
And that’s the kind of leadership I hope to bring to the Village of Choudrant.
Corey Martin Candidate for Choudrant Alderman
GROW BETTER. NOT JUST BIGGER. BALANCED LEADERSHIP FOR CHOUDRANT.
The above information has been provided by a political campaign.Unless otherwise noted, the Lincoln Parish Journal publishing staff does not endorse specific candidates or ballot measures.
A Ruston man on probation for DWI was arrested early Sunday after a Lincoln Parish sheriff’s deputy saw his car drifting over the fog line on U.S. 80 in Simsboro, according to an arrest affidavit.
Myson Ramone Jackson, 20, was arrested at 1:34 a.m. Sept. 20 on Gahagan Road near Priscilla Lane.
The deputy watched a white Nissan Altima traveling east on U.S. 80 cross the white fog line several times. After the deputy turned on the patrol unit’s emergency lights, the car turned south onto Gahagan Road, crossed the fog line again and stopped near Priscilla Lane.
Jackson, the driver, said his license was suspended and handed over an ID card. The deputy smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the car, and all three occupants were detained and read their Miranda rights.
When Jackson got out, the deputy saw a half-empty bottle of tequila in the driver’s seat. Jackson had trouble standing and keeping his balance. He said he had drunk half the bottle and later said he had smoked marijuana.
A records check showed Jackson is on probation for a previous DWI in October 2025 and is not allowed to drive a vehicle without an ignition interlock device. The Altima did not have one. A check of the car’s VIN showed it had not been registered, and Jackson could not provide proof of insurance.
A probable cause search of the car turned up a small, partially smoked marijuana cigar.
Jackson had a hard time staying awake and had to sit on the push bumper of the patrol unit. He refused field sobriety tests. At the Lincoln Parish Detention Center, he gave a breath sample of 0.103.
Both passengers were also arrested on outstanding warrants.
Deterion Shraud Brantley, 34, of Ruston, the front-seat passenger, was booked on three Ruston Police Department warrants for flight from an officer, resisting an officer by flight and simple criminal damage to property. Bond was set at $5,000 on the flight count, $1,000 on the resisting count and $500 on the criminal damage count.
Brytravious Millsaps, 27, of Winnsboro, who was riding in the back seat, is on probation for DWI. He was booked on a Third Judicial District warrant for DWI, driving with a suspended license and a seat belt violation.
Jackson was booked on charges of second-offense DWI, operating a vehicle without a required ignition interlock device, improper lane usage, driving with a suspended license, open container, failure to register a vehicle and no proof of insurance. Bond was set at $2,500 on the DWI count, and he was released on his own recognizance on the improper lane usage, suspended license, open container, registration and insurance counts.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox.Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
TOKYO — Owen Hebert’s first day at the world championships ended almost as soon as it began. His second ended one ruling short of a gold medal.
Hebert, a Ruston High School freshman who trains at Triad Martial Arts Academy, represented Team USA at the 2026 SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships, held Sept. 3-6 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. He left Japan as the SJJIF gi world silver medalist.
“My experience in Japan was amazing,” Hebert said. “The culture was very respectful, the city was unreal, and competing there was an experience I’ll never forget.”
The championship, sanctioned by the Sport Jiu-Jitsu International Federation, included both gi and no-gi competition and brought together athletes from the United States, Japan and other countries. Gi matches are contested in the traditional uniform, while no-gi competitors wear grappling attire, a format that generally produces a faster, wrestling-oriented style. The SJJIF organizes international sport jiu-jitsu competition and works toward greater worldwide recognition of the sport.
The setting added to the moment. Yoyogi National Gymnasium was originally built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and later hosted events during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Hebert entered both divisions. His no-gi tournament ended in the opening round on a referee stoppage, and neither Hebert nor the Team USA coaches were initially clear on the reason for it.
He answered the next day in the gi bracket, advancing through the field to reach the world championship final. That match stayed tied through regulation and went to sudden-death overtime. After an extended consultation among tournament officials and Hebert’s coach, the deciding ruling went to his opponent.
The ending was difficult, but the silver medal marked a major achievement on the world stage, particularly coming one day after the no-gi disappointment. It was a familiar path for Hebert, who dropped his opening no-gi match at last year’s UWW Grappling World Championships in Greece before rebounding to win bronze in gi. He said that trip paid off in Tokyo.
“I feel like my experience in Greece helped me stay composed under pressure because I had already competed on the world stage,” Hebert said. “I knew what to expect and felt more comfortable going into this event.”
Hebert was 14 during the championship and turned 15 less than a week after returning home. Along with jiu-jitsu, he competes in wrestling and football at Ruston High, a three-sport load that sets him apart from many of the athletes he faced internationally, who specialize in jiu-jitsu and train in the discipline year-round.
He qualified for Tokyo by winning gold at the AAU/SJJIF Team USA Trials in June, securing his second Team USA berth of the summer. Earlier that month, he won the UWW Team USA Trials to qualify for the UWW Grappling World Championships.
The silver adds to a growing resume. Along with his 2026 world medal and two Team USA qualifications this year, Hebert is a UWW Grappling World Championships bronze medalist, an Adidas Wrestling Nationals All-American, a Louisiana middle school wrestling state champion, and a Louisiana folkstyle state champion and state runner-up. He is also a two-time AGF No-Gi national champion, a six-time AGF world champion, an IBJJF bronze medalist, a Junior Olympic judo silver medalist and a national karate champion.
Hebert said the lessons from Tokyo will carry forward.
“A couple of things I’ll take away from this event are the importance of staying composed when facing adversity, not allowing one moment to define the entire outcome and trusting that I have put in the work to succeed,” Hebert said.
He also credited his faith and the people who helped him get to Japan.
“I’m very blessed that God has given me this platform to glorify Him through this sport,” Hebert said. “I want to thank my community, USA Grappling, Coach Josh and my parents for all of their support and for helping me get here.”
Two Monroe 19-year-olds were arrested Sept. 19 after witnesses said one of them cocked a handgun at the other’s urging during an argument on Main Street near Grambling State University, and a stolen pistol was later found in their car, according to probable cause affidavits.
Elicia L. Elmore and Jerrod D. Cooper, both 19, were booked into the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
Officers were sent to Main Street about 6:10 p.m. on a complaint that people in a Dodge Challenger had a gun and had “cocked the gun” in front of the complainants. A Grambling State detective spotted a Dodge Challenger matching the description heading north on Main Street and stopped it.
Elmore was driving. During a pat-down, officers found a small bag holding 1.9 grams of suspected marijuana. Cooper was identified as the front-seat passenger. Both were read their Miranda rights, agreed to talk with officers and denied having any guns or contraband in the car.
Because of the firearm complaint and the marijuana, the detective searched the car. Before the search began, Elmore told officers a handgun was under the driver’s seat. The detective found a black Glock 19 with a tan grip and an extended magazine there. A check of the gun showed it had been reported stolen through the Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses told officers Elmore had been in a verbal argument with a woman over a cellphone. While Cooper sat in the front passenger seat, Elmore told him to “pull it,” witnesses said, and one witness said Cooper then cocked the gun. Both denied the allegations.
Both were taken to the university police department for processing before being booked into the detention center.
Elmore was booked on counts of principal to aggravated assault with a firearm, carrying a firearm in a school zone, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of marijuana under 14 grams and violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law in a drug-free zone.
Cooper was booked on counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, carrying a firearm in a school zone and possession of a stolen firearm.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox.Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
Dr. Skylar Souyoul, a premier cosmetic dermatologist, is now bringing her expertise to the Ruston community
Dr. Skylar Souyoul, a premier cosmetic dermatologist, is now bringing her expertise to the Ruston community.
Dr. Souyoul is at the forefront of non-surgical facial and skin rejuvenation, specializing in minimal-downtime treatments that deliver beautiful, natural-looking results. She is a strong advocate of prejuvenation – early, less invasive prevention tactics to slow visible signs of aging – and applies a proactive strategy combining targeted in-office treatments with medical-grade skincare.
Souyoul Dermatology offers a full spectrum of aesthetic services to restore volume, enhance facial contours, soften expression lines, and improve skin quality and elasticity. This includes neurotoxin and hyaluronic acid filler injectables, biostimulators, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments for hair and skin rejuvenation. Souyoul Dermatology also features a medical aesthetician specializing in microneedling, chemical peels, and dermaplaning.
Dr. Souyoul is a board-certified dermatologist with more than a decade of experience performing cosmetic injections and advanced laser procedures. After earning her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine, she completed her dermatology residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.
Following residency, she trained alongside one of the nation’s leading experts in non-surgical skin rejuvenation and cosmetic injectables, and she has since established herself as a trusted practitioner in Shreveport. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Souyoul has participated in numerous clinical research trials supporting FDA approval of both cosmetic and medical dermatologic treatments.
Dr. Souyoul is currently accepting new patients at her office, Souyoul Dermatology & Aesthetics, located inside Bayou Dermatology (911 Tech Drive, Ruston, LA 71270). To make an appointment, please call or text her office at (318) 708-9408.
You can follow Dr. Souyoul at @drskylarsouyoul on Instagram and Facebook for the latest information on skincare, cosmetic injections, and skin rejuvenation procedures.
Wenford Wilborn wishes the late E.J. Lewis could be there.
His mom and dad, too.
More than five decades after Lewis took a chance on an undersized defensive back from East Texas, Wilborn will take his place among Louisiana Tech’s all-time greats Oct. 9 when he is inducted into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.
It’s an honor that means plenty to the former Bulldog. It’s also one that will be a little bittersweet.
“I hate that Coach Lewis is not here to see it,” Wilborn said. “He would really be excited. That’s the only part I really hate about it. He’s not here, and my parents are not here. Both of them, they would have thought it was the ultimate.”
Lewis was much more than the Louisiana Tech assistant coach who recruited Wilborn to Ruston.
“Coach Lewis was like a second father to me,” Wilborn told longtime sports journalist Nico Van Thyn in a 2015 story on the integration of Louisiana Tech football.
And in the early 1970s, Lewis saw something in Wilborn that plenty of other college coaches apparently didn’t.
Wilborn had starred on both sides of the football at White Oak High School in East Texas, rushing for nearly 3,000 yards during his final three seasons while earning All-East Texas honors on offense and defense.
Yet his recruitment had all but dried up.
“The thing I remember about it is it was kind of hectic before then, and then all of a sudden things just died down until Coach Lewis showed up,” Wilborn said. “When Coach Lewis showed up, everything took off again.”
Wilborn thought he was headed to Stephen F. Austin, but that opportunity fell through. Junior college appeared to be next.
Then Lewis entered the picture.
Wilborn’s track coach at White Oak knew Lewis and suggested the Tech assistant take a look at the 5-foot-9, 160-pound athlete.
“He couldn’t understand why I didn’t already have a scholarship,” Wilborn said.
Former Tech defensive end David Wilkins remembers hearing the story of Lewis’ evaluation of Wilborn. According to Wilkins, Lewis called Tech head coach Maxie Lambright and described an athlete who could “motor,” was fast and agile and “hits like a freight train.”
Lewis loved everything about him but told Lambright there was one issue: Wilborn was Black. Wilkins remembers being told there was silence on the other end before Lambright responded.
“Sign him,” said the legendary Hall of Fame Tech coach.
Wilborn became one of six young Black men who arrived in Ruston in the fall of 1971 as the first African-American football players in Louisiana Tech history, joining Fred Dean, Gerald Eddings, Larry Griffin, Roland Harper and Charles McDaniel.
It was a historic moment for Louisiana Tech, although it wasn’t something Wilborn spent much time thinking about.
“It wasn’t difficult or anything,” Wilborn said. “I was kind of used to it because I started at White Oak probably three or four years before that, and we were integrated. So it wasn’t such a big deal with me.
“I was in sports most of the time. That’s what I concentrated on. Everything kind of worked out for me.”
Wilkins was already an established player in the Tech program and remembers the newcomers being pretty quiet — at least until Saturdays.
“They didn’t say much, but on Saturday, they played, and their presence was felt,” Wilkins said.
Wilborn didn’t need much time to make an impression.
“This guy was ready-made,” Wilkins said. “I mean, right out of high school. … He’s like all great players. You don’t need to coach them too much. He was just ready-made.”
Wilkins also remembers Wilborn and Dean, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, settling a debate over who was faster by racing after practice.
“They ran a couple of them, probably two out of three,” Wilkins said. “Fred Dean beat Wenford. Now Wenford may say, ‘Nah, that didn’t happen.’ But from my recall, if he didn’t beat him, he stayed stride for stride. That’s how fast those guys were.”
Wilborn put that speed to good use during his freshman season.
Tech led Eastern Michigan 7-3 in the third quarter of the 1971 Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the Eagles punted. Wilborn was standing inside his own 10-yard line and knew he was supposed to let the football go.
He caught it anyway.
“I wasn’t supposed to catch the ball because I was inside the 10,” Wilborn said. “But I went on and took a chance anyway.”
Wilkins still remembers watching Wilborn take off.
“When he ran down that sideline, he was like a racehorse,” Wilkins said. “I went, ‘Man, he’s gone.’”
Ninety-one yards later, Wilborn was in the end zone, helping Tech secure a 14-3 victory. The return set an NCAA College Division record at the time and remains the second-longest punt return in Louisiana Tech history.
ABC-TV selected Wilborn as the game’s Outstanding Defensive Player and awarded a $1,000 scholarship in his name to Louisiana Tech.
The Tech coaches weren’t thrilled when he initially fielded the punt.
“They were fussing at first because I was taking it inside the 10,” Wilborn said.
That changed 91 yards later.
“It went from no to yes,” Wilborn said.
Another play early in the 1972 season at Southern Miss remains etched in the memory of former Tech teammate Roy Waters.
The Bulldogs had just scored when the ensuing kickoff took a high bounce. Wilborn went after it.
“I remember that ball got about 6 or 7 feet off the ground, and Wenford, that little bitty thing he was, went and dove over everybody,” Waters said. “I remember him laid out flat. He was parallel to the ground, 6 feet off the ground, snagged the ball in the air, tucked it and went down.”
The Tech sideline erupted.
“We went nuts,” Waters said. “It was like, if that guy will lay it out like that, we can do this.”
Tech defeated Southern Miss 33-14 that night.
“It gave us that confidence like we could take on anybody,” Waters said. “That play right there just inspired us for that season. We went on undefeated that year.
“I think he had as much to do with that as anybody.”
Tech finished 12-0 and was recognized as co-national champion by the National Football Foundation following a 35-0 win over Tennessee Tech in the Grantland Rice Bowl.
A year later, the Bulldogs won the NCAA Division II national championship. Wilborn helped them get there by intercepting three passes, including two in the end zone, in an 18-13 first-round playoff victory over Western Illinois.
Waters remembers another part of Wilborn’s game — his fearlessness. In fact, the hard-hitting cornerback had a nickname.
“We called him the Stamp,” Waters said.
“You may catch the ball and all that stuff, but he didn’t grab you and try to drag you down. He’d come up and tattoo you. I suspect receivers got tired of getting tattooed.
“But the guy was fearless. I mean, he’d put it to them.”
Wilborn finished his career with 15 interceptions, leading Tech in that category in 1971, 1973 and 1974, while earning All-Southland Conference honors his final two seasons.
When told recently that Wilborn had recorded 15 career interceptions, Waters sounded surprised.
“Is that all he got?”
There probably would have been more if opposing quarterbacks had been more willing to challenge him.
“Some teams hardly ever threw to my side of the field,” Wilborn told Van Thyn in 2015.
He was just as dangerous with the football in his hands. Wilborn’s 91 career punt returns remain the most in program history, while his 742 punt-return yards rank third.
Funny thing is, returning punts wasn’t necessarily his idea.
“I was kind of forced into that job,” Wilborn said. “Coach Lewis thought I should be returning punts.”
Lewis apparently knew what he was doing.
“He made E.J. Lewis very happy,” Wilkins said. “I’m telling you, E.J. started smiling a lot after Wenford came to Tech.”
There was plenty to smile about. Louisiana Tech went 44-4 during Wilborn’s four seasons, winning four Southland Conference championships and three consecutive national championships from 1972 through 1974.
Yet more than five decades later, ask Wilborn what made those teams special and he doesn’t start with the championships, the talent or the Hall of Famers. He starts with the people.
“I think we had about 10 guys that turned out to be ministers or preachers,” Wilborn said. “Those guys were true to what they said, and they kind of brought the rest of us together.
“Everybody really cared for each other. You had each other’s back.”
That bond carried onto the football field.
“The main thing about it was everybody did their job,” Wilborn said. “The defensive backs knew what the linebackers were doing. The linebackers knew what the line was doing. It just all kind of came together for us.”
Waters remembers Wilborn as much for the person as the player.
“He was always smiling,” Waters said. “I never saw him get upset.”
More than 50 years later, those memories and relationships remain.
“I look at these guys on the wall that I have here in my room,” Wilborn said. “It’s meant a lot to be with those guys. They were good guys.
“We looked after each other and cared about each other.”
Many of them will be there Oct. 9 when Wilborn takes his place in the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame. Waters plans to be one of them.
“I love that guy, man,” Waters said. “He was just incredible.”
Lewis won’t be there. Neither will Wilborn’s parents.
But all three played a role in getting him there.
On a recruiting questionnaire Wilborn completed as a freshman at Louisiana Tech, he was asked who had been the biggest influence on his life. His answer was simple: his mom and dad.
“(My parents always) stuck with me,” he wrote.
On that same questionnaire, the 18-year-old freshman was asked what he hoped to achieve through football.
“The feeling of being a champ.”
Four Southland Conference titles, three national championships and now a spot in the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.
MEDINAH, Ill. – Seems like an ideal pairing, two good friends who happen to be among the world’s very best golfers, representing the USA in international play.
Just hasn’t worked that way for Choudrant resident Sam Burns, eighth in the Official World Golf Rankings, and his pal, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
They aim for success today as four-ball partners in the first match of the 2026 Presidents Cup competition at Medinah Country Club in the Chicago metroplex. Tee time is 11:35 against Min Woo Lee (No. 30) of Australia and Sungjae Im (No. 60) of South Korea. Using the OWGR scale, with an 81-point spread, it’s the biggest mismatch in the five four-ball contests today.
Today and Friday, TV coverage of the Presidents Cup is on Golf Channel. Saturday’s coverage starts from 7-8 a.m. before moving to NBC for the rest of the weekend competition, which wraps up Sunday with singles play. Subsequent pairings will be made daily by team captains, the USA’s Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Oglivy for the International team.
Burns recalls being a 13-year-old in Shreveport when he first crossed paths with Dallas native Scheffler in junior golf events. Although they play plenty of practice rounds together during every PGA Tour season, this is the first time since 2023 they’ve been paired at an international event mostly because they were a combined 0-3-1 as partners at the 2022 Presidents Cup and 2023 Ryder Cup.
The separation worked in 2024 with Scheffler and Burns responsible for six points in team play. But at last year’s Ryder Cup, the U.S. got a whopping half-point from the two; Scheffler went 0-4 at Bethpage before winning his singles match.
“Do I think we have unfinished business? I don’t know if I would call it that,” said Burns Tuesday at his media session. “It’s been frustrating the times we have played together, and we feel like we’ve played really well and ultimately not won.”
The most glaring example came in Burns’ professional international debut, the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. After tying Im and Sebastian Munoz despite making nine birdies and an eagle, the USA’s statistics staff told Burns that he and Scheffler would’ve beaten any other team that day. Instead, Im and Munoz rang up nine birdies as well.
“We’ve played well together. It’s just a matter of earning some points for the U.S. team. It’s been more frustrating than anything,” said Burns, 30, coming off his best season as a pro.
“It’s a comfortable pairing for us. We obviously spend a lot of time together, play a lot of golf together. Yeah, it’ll be fun.”
Burns is thrilled to take part in his fifth consecutive international event on Team USA, his third President’s Cup (all wins) along with two Ryder Cups (American defeats).
“Being able to play for your country and represent 11 other guys and all the captains and all the spouses that are here, I don’t take that lightly. When you’re playing and you’re in your career, these weeks kind of fly by, and one day you really look back and have a ton of appreciation for what it means to represent your country and be on these teams.
“I think all of us on this squad, there’s nothing more we want to do than to go out and win and represent our country well, and that’s the plan this week,” he said.
The proud former LSU two-time All-American has had enough frustration recently. He was tuned into the Tigers’ loss at Ole Miss Saturday night as Heisman Trophy candidate Trinidad Chambliss led the Rebels to a dramatic 32-24 triumph.
“I’m still not over it,” said Burns. “I will say this: Trinidad, he’s a heck of a football player. I knew he was really good before the game and I was even more impressed after.”
For years now, my morning routine has been the same. Get up early, pray, workout, and start the day. Within that prayer aspect of the morning, I always try to start with gratitude.
When I start my prayer time with gratitude, my perspective changes. When I am thankful, I am not anxious, worried, or apprehensive. When I am thankful, I am aware of little things that mean so much that often are taken for granted.
When I am thankful, I see the tasks in front of me as opportunities. My attitude changes from “have to” to “get to”. The task hasn’t changed, but my perspective is completely different starting from a place of gratitude.
Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Can you look at each new day as a gift? Each day is a new opportunity. Sure, some days will be harder than others, but it’s still a day of opportunity. There will be disappointments, loss, and pain at times, but there is something about the sun coming up that reminds us of the hope surrounding a new day.
I have learned a few things over the years that have helped me focus on gratitude first.
Pay attention to the small things: Don’t take anything for granted. Sometimes, we are reminded of the value of small things in life when we can’t experience them.
Don’t be consumed with expectations: When we place expectations on people, outcomes, or performances, we can become consumed with things we don’t control. Gratitude allows us to focus on the experience not the outcome.
Don’t get caught in the comparison trap: Comparison leads to discontentment. Gratitude drives comparison out of our thoughts.
Mindset matters: I can choose to either focus on where I am lacking or where I am thriving. Gratitude takes me to a positive place when others remind me of my shortcomings.
I choose to start my day expressing thankfulness in prayer. I am then better equipped to pray for others from a thankful, hopeful, and positive mindset.
I was recently reminded of the value of our health (feeling good). I am writing this article on Sunday night, and it’s day four of my dealing with an upper respiratory infection. I fly out early Tuesday morning to do my first international workshop.
150 business leaders from all over Mexico are coming together for the day-long event. I call it “A Day of Difference”. They have translators and a system to convey the message very timely. I have never had a host be so excited to have me come speak.
I am very thankful for the opportunity, thankful that I was able to see a physician this past weekend to get help, and very thankful that I was able to slow down over the weekend and get some rest.
There is still some concern that I can be effective for an entire day, but it’s an opportunity to invest in the lives of 150 people that I may never see again. I am going with a heart filled with gratitude and hopeful I can connect well with them.
By the time you read this article, I am hopefully boarding a plane and heading home. Hopefully heading home thankful that we were able to make a difference in the lives of 150 leaders in Mexico.
Start your day with thankfulness and watch how your perspective changes your day!
Doug equips leaders to make organizations better. He has two leadership books available on all online platforms. Whether you are looking for a speaker for your next event or a leadership coach to develop people and build an authentic team, contact Doug at doug.strickel@gmail.com and learn more about PLUS.
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Lincoln Parish Journal readers have an opportunity each week to win FREE money in the Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em presented by Johnson Physical Therapy, Ruston Athletic Supply, and The Rental Association.
And the best part is it’s FREE … just like your subscription to the LPJ.
Bigger question. Are you ready to win $150 in cash … with the potential to make it $300 if you are perfect on the week (including predicting the No. 1 tiebreaker exactly right).
The Lincoln Parish Journal is holding the 5th Annual Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by The Rental Association, Ruston Athletic Supply, and Johnson Physical Therapy.
If you live in the deep south, you know College Football is King!
Anyone is eligible to participate and each week one lucky winner will go home with a $150 cash prize. Each week the winner will be the participant with the best record out of 15 selected college football games (ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two of our weekly contests).
The Karl Malone Toyota College Football Pick’em Contest presented by Ruston Athletic Supply, Johnson Physical Therapy, and The Rental Association will be conducted for 14 regular season weeks of the college season starting with Week 1 games.
There is no entry fee, just like there is no cost to SUBSCRIBE to the Lincoln Parish Journal where it will come to your inbox every weekday morning. It takes 20-30 seconds to sign up and not much longer than that to make your picks.
All contest decisions by LPJ management are final. Weekly winners will be notified Monday and will be requested to take a photo that will run in the following week’s LPJ.
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Lincoln Prep hits the road tonight for a matchup of 2-1 Class 1A teams as the Panthers take on Jonesboro-Hodge at Caldwell Peacock Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The two Class 1A schools are no strangers to each other. Jonesboro won last year’s meeting 35-28 in Grambling.
Lincoln Prep’s last win over Jonesboro-Hodge came on Sept. 26, 2024, when the Panthers won 44-8 at home.
“Anytime these two schools meet, it’s big,” said Panthers coach Chaunce Davison. “It doesn’t take anything for either team to get fired up to play. They’re playing against friends. They’re playing against family — cousins and things like that. They know each other and have played together or against each other for years.
“Receiver JaQuan Qualls is playing good ball for Jonesboro-Hodge. I think he had three catches and a touchdown last week against Winnfield. But he played for us last year and earned All-District honorable mention. It’s that kind of thing for our kids and their kids. So, it’s a rivalry, but a family rivalry. We may get after each other, but I have much respect for (JHHS coach Terrance) Blankenship and his program. They’re going to be a challenge.”
Davison said defensively, his Panthers know they have to try to limit big plays by Tigers quarterback King Campbell, who went 9 of 13 passing last week against Winnfield for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Lontre’vious “Tre” Burn, who ran for 118 yards last week on only five carries thanks to a pair of 50-plus-yard scampers.
“It all starts with ‘The King’ — he’s a big (6-2, 170) with a strong arm and isn’t afraid to try and use it,” Davison said. “So, our defensive secondary is going to have to be prepared. And Burns (6-1, 200) is a powerful runner, so our defense knows what they’re facing and that they’ll have to take care of assignments as a total team unit to be able to try and hold off that kind of offense.
“So, we’ll need big games from the entire defense but especially some of our top tacklers like Howard Kirkpatrick Jr., Aiden Ferguson, Kayse Owens, Sheldon Holmes and Randell Payne. We’ll need to see them flying to the ball and swarming whoever is carrying it.”
For a second straight week, Lincoln Prep is unclear on the status of one of its primary weapons, junior running back Jakaylon Armstrong, who ran hard and effectively in the Panthers’ first two games before being limited last week in a loss at Bastrop.
Davison said that just as it was last week at Bastrop, Armstrong’s availability against Jonesboro-Hodge will be a game-time decision.
“It’s a high-ankle sprain, so we won’t really know until pregame warmups whether he’ll be able to go or not,” Davison said of Armstrong. “He played some and picked up some yardage, but nothing close to what he can do when he’s 100%. We’ll just have to wait and see in those pregame warmups and then decide on how to handle things with him.”
The Panthers do know they’ll have three of their other offensive weapons primed and ready — senior receiver Josiah Spann, junior quarterback Jabari Levingston and junior wideout Karmello Jones.
Levingston has completed 20 of 26 attempted passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns while adding 296 rushing yards and six scores on 24 carries.
Spann leads the Panthers with nine catches for 224 yards and a pair of scores, while Goins has hauled in seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown.
