Operation: Back to Back

It’s time to finish the mission.

That’s how Jerrod Baugh views Saturday’s Division I Non- select state championship game in the Caesars Superdome between No. 3 Ruston (11-2) and No. 4 Central (12-1) as the Bearcats look for backto- back titles for the first time in school history.

This senior class has made their careers off memorable firsts, and Baugh knows it wouldn’t feel right if they left this much on the table before their careers are over.

They beat West Monroe for the first time since 1990. They helped last year’s seniors become the first team to make it to the Dome since 1998. And, of course, they helped win the school’s first title since 1990 last year.

The 2025 senior class has taken on every challenge and met it. Now, one more task remains between them and an all-time postseason run of success that will stay with them forever.

“They’ve accomplished too much not to finish it off,” Baugh said of Ruston’s seniors. “We don’t want to blow it by not finishing our preparation leading up to the ball game. I told them that they’ve had their last after-school practice, last padded practice. A lot of these guys have taken a lot of snaps and started a lot of football games. I would be so disappointed for them to not finish the preparation, go out and play really well on Saturday afternoon to finish their careers the way I feel like they should finish them.”

Ruston will have to defeat the Wildcats, who are coming off an upset win over No. 1 Neville in the semifinals, pulling ahead on a late field goal block returned for a touchdown. The Wildcats are making history in their appearance as well in the school’s first trip to the Dome.

It’s probably not what many expected, hoping to see the rematch of Ruston vs. Neville for all the marbles. But the Wildcats secured the win and now stand in Ruston’s way. While some may call it luck or a fluke that Central is here instead of Neville after the late special-teams miracle, Baugh said the Wildcats shouldn’t be underestimated and added that buying into the narrative that this title bout is a guaranteed win is a dangerous game.

“ They won all the games to get here. I mean they beat a team that beat us in the regular season. Anybody can look however they want to at it,” Baugh said of Central. “Plays happen and people win ball games behind those plays. You can go back and look at our ball game against Neville and say, ‘Well, if this play went different, we would have won.’ But you didn’t. In my opinion, a play is a play, and it counts and Central did enough to win the ball game. To me, that’s their identity. They do enough to win ball games on offense and defense and special teams and they continue to do that.”

Central’s strength this season is clearly its defense, with the Wildcats holding opposing teams to just 13.15 points per game — the lowest scoring defense Ruston has faced all year. The Wildcats are led by senior defensive lineman DK Mays, a Houston signee, who has 25.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks, along with his brother KD Mays at linebacker, who has 30 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. Three other Central defensive linemen have 5.5 sacks each to round out a strong front.

Central also has a solid secondary led by Blaysen Stokan (5 interceptions) and Steven Ranel ( 2 picks), who helped hold Neville, an offense that averaged 33 points per game, to just 13 points in last week’s semifinal.

On the flip side, Central’s offense hasn’t exactly lit up the scoreboard this year, averaging 27.2 points per game — the lowest scoring offense of any team Ruston has faced in the playoffs. Last week, Neville allowed just one play over 20 yards and limited Central quarterback Jackson Firmin to 3-of-11 passing for 42 yards.

Baugh said Ruston can’t take the low scoring total as a sign they’ll be able to run over the Wildcats.

“ Everybody talks about their defense, and it is good. But their offense is very complimentary to what it is they do,” Baugh said. “Just because they’re not running around scoring 40 points a ball game, that doesn’t make them not a good football team. They might not be very flashy but if your offense, defense, special teams work together in a way that wins ball games, that’s productive. I think those kids and coaching staff seem to understand that.”

Ruston’s offense has been on fire in the playoffs, averaging 45 points per game through three wins, with its top players showing out on winor- go-home stages. Senior running backs Jordan Hayes and Dylone Brooks have combined for 57 carries for 445 yards — 7.8 yards per carry — and 6 touchdowns in the playoffs, while senior quarterback Josh Brantley has completed 67% of his passes for 409 yards, 6 touchdowns, and a single interception in the playoffs.

The explosive nature of Ruston’s offense could help them score in bunches, that is if Central allows for the Bearcats to possess the ball more than four times in a half.

Baugh expects Central’s game plan will be to limit Ruston’s possessions and shorten the game, making third- down execution critical to either kick the Wildcats off the field and give Ruston a chance to build a lead, or allow Central to stay close enough to make it close in the end. Taking advantage of each drive will be critical if the Bearcats are going to finish the job.

“I think they’ll try to shorten the ballgame, which we do that. If we feel like we can run the football like last Friday with Destrehan, we feel good about our running game and shorten the game,” Baugh said. “I feel like they’ll be the same way. What it does is it makes the possession you do have more important, and you can’t blow it. To me, it’s like Acadiana. They shorten the game and you’re only going to get the ball about four times a half and you blow you a couple of those and you wasted opportunities and then you might not get it for a while.

“ We’ll need to do everything we can to make sure we can keep them off the field and we’re finishing drives with points.”

Kickoff for the state championship game on Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. to wrap up the LHSAA Prep Classic weekend.