Hayes lifts Ruston past Zachary in big second half

Zachary had no answer for Ruston senior running back Jordan Hayes as the tailback they call ‘The Jet’ soared for 202 total yards of offense and 3 total touchdowns in the second half as the Bearcats defeated Zachary 42-21 in the second round of the Division I nonselect playoffs on Friday.

Hayes finished with 17 carries for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns to go with 2 catches for 74 yards and a TD – amassing 363 yards and 6 TD over his last two contests. Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh praised his All-State tailback for delivering when the Bearcats needed to strike after just tying the game at 14-14 before halftime.

“I think he looks forward to them,” Baugh said of why Hayes excels in big games. “He likes the atmosphere and the big game and being able to help us in those moments. That’s just what he wants to do and he wants the ball in those moments. I’m proud for him. He’s worked his butt off for a long time.”

Hayes gave Ruston a 21-14 lead 10 seconds into the third on a 70-yard TD run, breaking through the middle of the field as Zachary’s secondary was caught sleeping to let the Jet streak by for his longest run of the night. He followed that up with a 1-yard TD run on Ruston’s next drive to go up 28-14 to cap an eight-play drive that featured Hayes on six straight runs – almost daring Zachary to try to stop him as he cut downhill for big yardage.

Two drives into the third quarter, Hayes put up 129 yards on just 6 carries and a pair of scores as he was well on his way to sealing Ruston’s victory.

“I’m feeling really great. I’m just seizing the moment right now,” Hayes said postgame. “I bring a whole lot to the offense. I’m happy I had a big game. It took some time but I just came out and played my game.”

It was a quiet first half for the run game overall, with Hayes’ only impact early on was punching in a 3-yard score on 4th down in the first quarter to tie the contest at 7-7. But once the Bearcats started getting push up front and let Hayes attack space without tacklers near his feet, Ruston never looked back.

“I think we just settled in up front and figured out what they had planned with their front defensively. I think we started blocking it up,” Baugh said. “Coaches did a really good job of lining that out at halftime and made some big runs.”

Zachary cut it to 28-21 with 8:29 left as Da’Vekio Ruffin punched in his second TD of the night, but Ruston immediately answered with guess who?

Hayes touched the ball on all three of Ruston’s first plays on its ensuing drive and made the most of his third on a 65-yard catch-and-run as he snuck out of the backfield wide open into the flat to make it an easy pitch and catch from Brantley to put Ruston in front 35-21.

Ka’Varion Key recovered a fumble on Zachary’s next drive and the Bearcats turned the takeaway into another TD drive, ending with Brantley running in from 10 yards out.

The Broncos delivered punches early on, taking a 7-0 lead on its second drive after marching 48 yards, leaning on Ruffin for 44 yards on the scoring drive. Zachary marched 71 yards on its next drive to take a 14-7 lead, continuing to feed Ruffin.

The senior running back came to play for Zachary with 25 carries for 164 yards and 2 TD – a 6.56 average.

“He gets behind that big offensive line and you can’t find him in there and he hits creases, particularly in the first half,” Baugh said of Ruffin. “He’s just hard to find. Zachary is a really good football team, and we’re very fortunate to be able to move on.”

Ruston’s first half scores were Hayes on the 4th down connection and a 12-yard TD pass from Brantley to Darius James.

Brantley finished 11-16 for 207 yards and 2 TD to go with 8 carries for 29 yards and a score.

Ruston’s defense may have flipped momentum entirely on its biggest stop of the night with 2:14 left in the first half as Zachary drove all the way to the Bearcats’ 14-yard line, already ahead 14-7. But on 4th down, Zachary bobbled the snap and Ruston swarmed behind the line of scrimmage to force the turnover on downs, allowing the offense to drive and tie the game before half.

Ruston’s defense limited Zachary to a single TD in the second half while forcing two takeaways and a punt as well. Darius Woods and Key recovered Zachary’s fumbles.

Payton Bell had 5 tackles and a sack while Zheric Hill had 7 tackles, 1 TFL, and a pass breakup.

No.3 Ruston hosts No. 6 Southside next Friday in the quarterfinals of the Division I nonselect playoffs.