Final stage for Payton Bell’s historic career

It’s only right that Payton Bell wraps up his high school career making history.

After all, that’s how he started his Bearcat journey four years ago as a freshman, bucking age barriers and any concerns about being physically outmatched to start on the defensive line for one of the best 5A programs in the state.

You read that right. He’s started in varsity football since he began high school.

Jerrod Baugh has coached at the highest level of football in the state for decades now, and he’s not sure there’s more than handful of players who are like Bell, possessing a unique skillset of speed, power, and passion that allowed him to make an impact from day one.

“You normally don’t find linemen period that are able to get in there at that age because of physicality,” Baugh said. “They may be strong, but a lot of them aren’t ready for that action in there, especially at a 5A school. Numbers wise, you normally don’t run into a circumstance where we gotta have that guy because you have so many older guys. At skill positions, you can find those way faster than you can find those guys inside.

“In my time with Ruston football, you probably wouldn’t find a defensive lineman as a freshman that has come in here, maybe since Kyle Williams was here, to do that. I know (Williams) started as a freshman because I coached against him. You’d be hard pressed to find guys at a 5A school to get in there and start,” he continued.

Bell’s consistent presence, one that’s had to work alongside future Division I game wreckers and physical freaks like Geordan Guidry, Ahmad Breaux, and Christian Davis in recent years, has flown under the radar on the stat sheet compared to his teammates.

He’s not a hulking figure, either. But he’s the only one who’s been on the field from the beginning. What he may lack in stature he makes up for with a consistency in his passion along with blink-of-an-eye speed off the ball that’s rarely seen.

Now, his one-of-a-kind career is set to wrap up in the Bearcats’ school-record third straight trip to the Caesars Superdome in Saturday’s Division I Non-select state championship. He wants to go back-to-back, obviously. But he knows his job as a senior leader is to calm the expected nerves of younger players who will be making their first start in the Dome.

All they have to do is turn to Bell, someone who has stared history in the face time and time again and thrived, and trust he and other veterans have their backs on the big stage.

“I want them to know the lights are going to be big, but us as seniors and the juniors, we’ve got their backs. All the young guys, we’ve got their backs. We’re used to playing in that atmosphere,” Bell said. “It’s really just another home game for us. They don’t need to be worried about it.”

If you want to know when “worry” and “Bell” have ever been used in the same sentence, just go to the All-District meeting for 2-5A. Baugh has seen first hand how much opposing coaches can’t wait for next season when Bell is out the door and not in the backfield creating chaos. The grumbling is with good reason.

Bell put up 71 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks over his sophomore and junior seasons but has saved his best for last this fall with career bests in tackles (45), TFL (10) and sacks ( 5) — both leading the Bearcats. The consistency has made him a three-time firstteam all-district selection as well.

“You just ask opposing coaches. We go to the all-district meeting and talk in there, and they are so ready for him to graduate because they don’t know what to do,” Baugh said. “We’ve had some really good players but the productivity he brings and the problems he causes in there is something and it’s pretty special for an undersized guy like that with how he gets after it.”

Bell has shown up big this postseason with 3 sacks in Ruston’s three playoff wins, along with 5 tackles for loss and 11 total tackles. Last week, in a semifinal win over Destrehan to send the Bearcats back to the Dome, Bell had a sack and a pair of tackles for loss.

“Some of it is those guys leaving, but we are moving him around to create some mismatches against the other team,” Baugh said of Bell’s increased production. “Last year, we had several guys create mismatches, and so those guys made some plays. Payton’s come around. He’s older. He’s put on weight, and that has helped him tremendously. I think that has helped in the tackle and sack category.”

Bell credits his career year to staying the course and knowing his time to lead would come, even when he knew last year Breaux and Guidry would create the most chaos on the stat sheet. But if you know Williams’ defense, being multiple is key.

“I just kept growing over the years. Every year I’ve gotten better, trying to get better,” Bell said. “Just try to have the same mentality every day when I get out here. I guess it’s showing on the stat sheet now too.”

Bell has proven to be more than just a runstuffing tackle. He can line up at defensive end and sack quarterbacks and set the edge on run plays. Playing from day one doesn’t just come for ordinary players.

It’s even hard for Ruston’s star linebacker Zheric Hill, a Louisiana Tech signee, to not get awestruck when he watches Bell make plays. He remembers the day when he, Bell, Jordan Hayes, and Josh Brantley were called up as freshmen by Baugh to dress varsity. He also remembers who saw the field first among the group.

“Bell is one of a kind. He’s that teammate that’s a natural at what he does,” Hill said. “Bell was a 15-, 16-year-old going against 18-year-olds like 300 pounds more than him and he just kicked their butt. He has no fear. He plays the game with love and passion. He plays fast too.”

Hill, a consistent 100-plus tackle machine with his future at the next level secured, is amazed Bell is under-appreciated like he appears to be on the recruiting scene. As he heads to his third state championship game, Bell’s only offer is from Centenary. Hill believes Bell checks the boxes: a four-year starter in 5A football, consistent numbers, versatility in defensive positioning. He’s shown who he is, even if everyone is just now catching up.

Hill hopes Saturday gives his longtime teammate one more moment to prove he’s among the elite Ruston defensive linemen in program history and deserves a chance at the next level.

“The way he gets in the backfield so fast, I really don’t understand how he’s not a top ranked lineman,” Hill said. “In my opinion, he’s better than some of the ranked linemen. When he’s out there playing, I sometimes catch myself being a fan. He’s so explosive off the line and it’s really fun to watch.”

All Bell is worried about right now is finishing the job on Saturday and capping off his career with another ring. He’s grateful for the community support through the years as the program has steadily gotten back to the mountaintop, cheering him and his teammates on during this epic ride.

“I think about the community,” Bell said. “The community has made this team what it is. Every Friday night, they always come to support us, no matter if we’re home or away. That’s why I love it here.”

As far as legacy, Bell’s not that big-picture. He’s a soft-spoken player. He leads through his play, not concerned with grand declarations of what he’ll be remembered for. But he does want to pass down the lessons he’s learned and give younger players the tools to carry on the program’s recent success.

“I try to be vocal, but it’s kind of not my thing,” Bell said. “If you can see me practice with intensity, I feel like it rubs off on the younger guys.”

That’s exactly what Baugh likes to hear from one of his leaders. Ruston isn’t Ruston without standards being passed down, without upperclassmen intentionally pouring into those behind them. Bell is the latest example.

“I think he leads by having a good attitude about the things we’re doing. I guess if I could push him in one area it would be his voice. He’s earned the respect of all of these guys that if he did say, ‘Hey man, you need to get this fixed.’ But he’s such a nice kid that he won’t,” Baugh said. “He certainly doesn’t play very nice. But around these guys, he’s always got a smile on his face and the kids draw to him.

“That’s how you continue to have a program is when the work habits and attitude of the older guys passes down to the younger kids. They need to have a good attitude about going to work and try to show that. He’s one of those that has consistently done that since he’s been here.”