Ruston falls to Central in state championship

NEW ORLEANS - Stunned. That was the feeling permeating throughout Ruston's sideline for most of Saturday's Division I nonselect state championship game as the Central Wildcats won 42-0, ending the Bearcats' historic season at 11-3 overall.

Trailing 35-0 at halftime, Ruston couldn't get off the mat as Central delivered body blow after body blow in the first 30 minutes to take a commanding lead.

When the day began, the Bearcats were rightfully riding high as they took the field inside the Superdome for the third straight year - a school first. They had outscored their previous playoff opponents 138-35, including a 44-7 win over Destrehan in the semifinals. The Bearcats looked like no one could stop them.

But an hour into the state championship, energy was ripped away from the Ruston sideline and a five-touchdown lead stared the Bearcats in the face. It was the first time all season Ruston had been shutout in the first half and first time all postseason the Bearcats trailed at halftime. It came at the worst time.

"For whatever reason or another, I didn't get our guys ready to play. I'll take full responsibility for that. That's what my job is. And for one reason or another it fell through the cracks," Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. "I don't want to downplay what these guys have accomplished this season. This senior group has accomplished a lot of things that haven't been done at Ruston High School in a long time or been done at all."

Two of Ruston's first three drives ended in turnovers, the first being a fumble scoop and score off a bad Ruston snap, that saw the Wildcats roar ahead two scores before four minutes were gone in the opening quarter. Central's defense, coming in allowing 13 ppg, lived up to the hype by holding an explosive Ruston offense to just 26 yards and a single first down in the first quarter.

The shock began to set in after the opening quarter, but Baugh isn't sure when the game truly got away from the Bearcats.

"I think the camel got its back broken a couple times," Baugh said. "I don't really know where the turning point was, but we never got in sync offensively. I think defensively, it started to come up. Aidan got knocked around and had to pull him out. And then you shuffle guys in the secondary and we move Fabian Stringfellow to safety. And then Payton Bell got hurt in the first half too. You have to be able to plug guys in and be able to make it work and we just weren't able to do that."

The Wildcats then burned over seven minutes of game clock in the second quarter that ended in a 4-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0. A minute later, Central moved ahead 28-0 on a wide-open 40-yard touchdown pass. Ruston's defense couldn't get off the field when it needed to in the first half, shown cleary when Central marched 38 yards in 1:26 to go ahead 35-0 at halftime on a 14-yard TD grab.

Central added a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter - Jackson Firmin's fifth of the game - to get to a running clock and the eventual 42-0 final. The Wildcats outgained Ruston 317-90 in total yardage, 233-30 in passing yards, and went a combined 10-18 between third and fourth down. Ruston also committed 10 penalties for 84 yards. The Bearcats committed five offsides penalties in the game.

"That's something that's a little bit different. Not a lot of people do that," Baugh said of Central's delayed snap. "I don't think that should have been an issue. I think that's something that's normally a lack of focus on what it is we need to do."

For Ruston's seniors, including Josh Brantley and Zheric Hill - leaders on their respective sides of the ball - Saturday was the final time they would put on the red and white. Tears were naturally present in postgame media availability, but the two stars didn't hold their head on what they accomplished in their careers, or what they're leaving behind.

"It's been real fun," Brantley said of his Ruston career. "It may not have ended the way we wanted it to end but like coach Baugh said, we've accomplished a lot of things this year, this past year."

Brantley finishes his final season at Ruston with 748 rushing yards and 15 TDs to go with 1,732 passing yards and 17 TD.

Hill, Ruston's leading tackler this season, finished with 6 tackles and a pass breakup in the loss - ending the season with 108 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 4 PBU.

He hopes young Bearcats like Jayden Anding, who was named the Outstanding Player of the Game for Ruston with a team-high 11 tackles and 2.5 TFL, carry on the legacy and keep Ruston in the mix to make runs to the Dome.

"I really can't give nobody but God the glory and the honor. I don't like this feeling I'm feeling right now. I really hope my younger brothers realize the foundation we left for them and can grow off of it. I'm just proud to be a Bearcat, to be honest. Proud to be a Bearcat. Proud that God put me in this position to play for this organization and play for this brotherhood."

Ruston finishes the season 11-3 overall.