All Ruston Daily Leader Offense

You don’t earn the nickname “Jet” by accident.

While his stature — 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds — doesn’t shout eye-popping and dynamic athlete with legs acting as his booster engines, Ruston running back Jordan Hayes soared as the main tailback for Ruston High in 2023 and flew by opponents at an impressive clip to lead Ruston’s offense to state championship glory.

After taking over the main rushing duties for departed running back Dyson Fields, Hayes took off for 1,752 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on 227 carries this season, earning District 2-5A Offensive MVP.

In the playoffs, Hayes rushed for 456 yards and 5 touchdowns at 7.7 yards per carry, a strong follow up to his careerhigh 249 yards against West Monroe on Nov. 3 to win the District 2-5A title in week 10 of the regular season.

As a result, Hayes earned the All-Ruston Daily Leader Offensive Most Valuable Player.

“As far as our skill guys go, he probably took the most snaps of anybody this year and we needed him and Logan Malone, being the two guys really with the most experience we had coming back,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “We needed those guys to play as we worked through breaking in a new quarterback and find out what you can do on offense, and he was a big part of that for us.”

Hayes helped Ruston average at least 5 yards per carry in 11 of the team’s 14 games, making up a large chunk of the team’s 3,342 rushing yards.

Hayes said the 2023 season was all about the Bearcats living up to their potential and knew his play would be a determining factor as to how far the team would go.

And they went as far as they could, capturing the school’s first state championship since 1990. Hayes played a large role in that success. Over the last two years, he totaled nearly 2,800 yards rushing with back-to-back appearances in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for state championship games.

“Coming into this season we knew the stakes would be set high, and everyone would have talked about us possibly going back to the promised land, so we had to live up the hype and make a statement to everyone,” Hayes said. “I feel like that made it fun this season. It felt like a challenge to us. I feel like I showed a lot this year based on my ability to score on any given play. That was my mentality.”

Lincoln Parish teams were well-represented for the rest of the offensive selections, starting with the three picks at wide receiver.

Malone, a Ruston senior, led the Bearcats with 377 receiving yards, including 112 in the state championship victory over Zachary, to go with 4 touchdown receptions. It that game, with Zachary keying on Hayes, Malone came up huge in the passion game with Josh Brantley.

Cedar Creek’s James Myers earned his spot after hauling in 107 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Cougars. Lincoln Prep wideout Joseph Spann, a second team All-District pick, also made it at receiver.

Ruston senior Zhy Scott was the lone selection at tight end with his 353 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2023, despite missing time with injuries early in the season.

Playmakers like them never get the ball if their quarterbacks don’t have time to work, and this year’s five offensive line selections made a big difference up front. Ruston had three picks with Sam Nations, Kylon Bradley and Chamarion Williams — each moving positions along the offensive line to pave the way for Ruston’s explosive run attack.

Cedar Creek’s Bryce Martin, a sophomore, also earned a spot as a dependable starter for the Cougars’ run-heavy system. Ryan Randolph, a sophomore guard for the Panthers, earned a spot as well. Ruston junior Josh Brantley took the quarterback slot after bursting onto the scene for the Bearcats this fall with 1,175 passing yards and 866 rushing yards. Brantley saved his biggest performance for last, totaling more than 320 yards and 3