Ruston runs over Cabot

No. 1 Ruston proved once again its winning formula can come from anywhere in a dominating 49-10 win over Cabot, Arkansas, on Friday at Hoss Garrett Stadium.

Entering the game without starting quarterback Josh Brantley due to injury, the Bearcats (2-0) would need to change their attack from the all-around performance they got out of QB1 in the opener. But it was no problem for a program that’s shown time after time its plan of attack can’t be limited. Just when you think they’re down or facing a major disadvantage, the defending champions continue to prove their winning pedigree with a balanced win over a solid Cabot squad.

Try 504 yards of offense with sophomore Sam Hartwell filled in for Brantley with a productive night of his own with 141 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions to go with 50 rushing yards and a rushing score. Joining Hartwell was the thunder and lightning backfield of Jordan Hayes and Dylone Brooks, with the duo putting up 116 yards and a touchdown and 120 yards and 2 scores respectively.

"Being able to keep those guys fresh is a big deal," Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said of his runners. "They both bring a little something different. Dylone's a really physical runner but has some speed too, which you saw. Jordan got his nose in there and ran the ball heavy too. I think it's a really good one-two punch for us to work with."

With Hartwell stepping up, Baugh took the win as a clear sign the Bearcats are never out of options to win games.

"I think really good football teams find a way to win. And regardless of what the circumstances may be with injuries or people pile up and stop the run and you need to throw, whatever the case is, they find a way," Baugh said postgame. "I think we've been allowed to set up our football program in a way that you know who the next guys are in line. And so, we're very comfortable with having Sam in there at quarterback. A lot of times you see with the backup you have to modify what you do but you saw with Sam in there you can do the same things with him that we do with Josh. And you never want your first quarterback out. that's not what you want. But whenever you put the backup in, you'd like to see him do what Sam did tonight."

In his second career start and just his fourth varsity game, Hartwell connected with senior wideout Joran Parker for 5 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown - a 56-yard score. 

The night started a bit shaky for Ruston as Hartwell was picked on the first series of the game, giving Cabot an easy setup to work with for a 4-yard touchdown pass for an early 7-0 lead. But Ruston didn't give Cabot any breathing room after that, holding the Panthers to just a 37-yard field goal late in the game. The Panthers managed four punts in the first half after the early score.

After the early mistake, Ruston woke up and left Cabot in the dust in the first quarter with its second drive of the game starting on its own 29 and eventually ending with a 9-yard Jordan Hayes TD run three minutes later to tie the game. In the second quarter, Ruston added on with Brooks and Hayes rushing for power to get inside the 30. Brooks did the rest on a shifty 26-yard touchdown, bouncing off tacklers in the backfield and cutting to his left for a sprinting score to put Ruston up 14-7.

Ruston recovered an onside kick and got big runs from Hartwell for multiple first downs on its next drive. The Bearcats went up two scores after Hartwell took a page out of Brantley’s book for a 20-yard keeper touchdown run for a 21-7 lead. Cabot waited over eight minutes to get the ball back in the quarter and managed another three-and-out punt.

Aidan Anding’s big punt return held the second time to the Cabot 44 to set Ruston up for the nail in the coffin of Cabot. On the drive, Ruston had a strong balance of run and pass to keep Cabot on its toes. Hartwell was able to bait the Panthers into biting on the possibility of him keeping the ball and running and instead waited for Lander Smith to come out of the backfield for a 7-yard touchdown pass to put Bearcats up 28-7

Hartwell came into this game with six career rushes for -19 yards in three games. He finished with 50 on the ground against Cabot.

Ruston added second half scores on a 23-yard touchdown from Brooks, a 56-yard strike to Parker, and a rushing score from senior Sven Outley to close out a strong Senior Night.

Defensively, Ruston was led by Zheric Hill with 8 tackles and Ka’Varion Key had a pair of sacks. Anding also added 4 tackles and his first interception of the year.

"We're going to have to have them make those plays. And they're doing it," Baugh said. "We're not trying to put pressure on them but those guys have played a lot of ballgames and have a lot of experience. We need them to play well for us to win ball games."

If you want to know how adaptive Ruston is in some of its biggest games in recent memory, here's a reminder.

Against Zachary in the state title game, Hayes and Brooks had less than 20 yards rushing. What does Ruston do? Fold? Not one bit. Brantley wins state championship MVP with his best game of his career and Anding returns a punt for a touchdown. In the 2024 opener with Acadiana, Ruston used Brantley's passing attack for nearly 200 yards combined with his great rushing to keep Acadiana honest. 

And now, Friday against Cabot, Brantley's absence didn't slow the offense down one bit with the unit putting up over 500 yards and a 39-point win. 

No. 1 Ruston (2-0) begins a three-game out-of-state trip to Longview, Texas, next Friday.