Bearcats blank Rebels

WEST MONROE - Ruston football went back to the Lakeside playbook in a 14-0 win over West Monroe Friday night at the 2023 Bayou Jamb.

With a stout defensive performance and dynamic running from Jordan Hayes and Dylone Brooks, the Bearcats defeated their district rivals for the third-straight meeting and head into preperation for the regular season opener with confidence. In Ruston's two preseason games, neither opponent scored.

West Monroe's drives amounted to five punts and one turnover on downs on the night, unable to get anything going to shift momentum away from the Bearcats who were literallty running away with the victory thanks to Hayes' 8 rushes for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Brooks had 10 carries for 77 yards.

"It's really good," Baugh said of Hayes postgame. "We've been watching Jordan do it for a long time since he was in the sixth grade. He's steadily gotten better. For him to be as small as he is, he's a really tough runner inside and he keeps his legs moving inside and all of the sudden you look around and he pops out of there. I'm proud for him and all our running backs. Our defense gives us a lot of opportunites to handle the ball and that's a big thing."

Lander Smith also hauled in 2 catches for 72 yards, including a 56-yard scamper after lowering his shoulder into a defender - much to the delight of his teammates on the sideline.

Zheric Hill and Jadon Mayfield led the defense with over 7 tackles each, while Ahmad Breaux had a pass breakup and sack.

Two shutout victories before the regular season? Baugh certainly liked what he saw out of his talented defensive unit and could see that leaving West Monroe with a goose egg mattered - even if the game didn't end with an official win or loss.

"I think that's good," Baugh said of his defense's shut out. "Those guys take pride in that. I thought they had a little help getting some first downs on a few drives so I was upset with those calls. But look, it's everybody's jamboree. All of us have some things to work on but I thought our defense did a really good job digging in under that adversity."

The Bearcats' defense set the tone from the start, forcing a West Monroe three-and-out on the opening drive and would go on to force a second punt on the ensuing series.

Ruston got on the scoreboard first with a 40-yard touchown run from Hayes down the West Monroe sideline, set up from a 15-yard completion to Smith the play before, to go up 7-0.

"He's a really young player last year and we're expecting him to do some more and make some big plays like that and we got that tonight and we're going to have to have that during the season," Baugh said of Smith.

West Monroe looked to finally threaten after a 30-yard completion on a swing pass but quickly faced a 4th and 5 in the following plays. The Rebels elected to go for it but Ruston defensive back Semaj Jones was ready and jumped in front of the pass attempt and intercepted the pass and returned it down inside the West Monroe 15. However, officials called pass interference on Jones and gave the Rebels a fresh set of downs inside the Ruston 15 yard line.

The Rebels got all the way down to the Ruston 6 and faced a 4th and 2 decision. Once again, they went for it but Mayfield exploded out of his break and knocked West Monroe's tail back off his feet for a tackle for loss for a turnover on downs. It would be the last time West Monroe ever sniffed the end-zone again.

Both teams struggled early in the second half to put together a meanuingful drive, with the Rebels punting and Ruston giving away a fumble at the 1-yard line on what intially appeared a touchdown. But Ruston added to its lead on its second drive of the period on a 12-yard touchdown from Hayes, with the junior spinning away from tacklers for another walk-in score to cap off the night.

With a packed house on hand at Rebel Stadium eager to cheer on the storied rivalry, Baugh said there was value in Friday's matchup beyond the plays on the field. It may not seem like much, but giving the Bearcats a first taste of what playing in hostile territory looks like mattered to the seventh-year head coach.

 "A lof of guys had some big eyes out here and it was a really good opportunity to get in front of a big crowd," Baugh said. "A lot of noise and a really good game experience for what it was for. You don't see this at a lot of places for a jmaboree. I thought our guys handled it pretty well."

Ruston will open the regular season against Warren Easton on Friday at 7 p.m. at Hoss Garrett Stadium.