Texas two-step for Ruston in the Metroplex
Ruston senior running back Jordan Hayes (4) hushes the Longview crowd last week in the second half of the Bearcats’ 21-10 victory on the road, while tight end Cullen Clark (16) celebrates. No. 1 Ruston takes its 17-game winning streak to Arlington, Texas, Saturday to face Midland Legacy at Choctaw Stadium. Photo by Landon Davis
No. 1 Ruston (3- 0) is heading back to the Lone Star State, this time for a Saturday afternoon tilt against Midland (Texas) Legacy (1-3), in Arlington.
The site of the game is a compromise between the schools to avoid long travel from either side and will offer players an experience they’ll never forget: playing at Choctaw Stadium, the former home of the Texas Rangers from 1994 through 2019.
“We had looked at a couple different places. Both of us had decided we didn’t want to drive all that way,” Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “From here, Midland is probably a 10-hour drive. I didn’t want to bite that off. I think it made sense for us to meet somewhere. I wanted to make it a neat venue. We had talked about going to the Cowboys practice facility and that was too much money. I think it’s going to be something where it’s not just going to be a neat venue, it’s something our team will have to get over all the distractions of what it looks like. It’ll be something for them to zone that out and we’ll have to play well.”
RustonstarteditsTexas trip without a hitch, defeating Longview (Texas), 21-10 last week with its dependable defense and solid running game coming through in the second half. Senior quarterback Josh Brantley put up 127 total yards with 2 touchdowns in his return from injury, but Baugh knows his signal caller will return to true form as he heals going forward.
“ I think as it goes along, and it’s still a little nagging, but I’m really glad we took the week that we did against Cabot,” Baugh said. “That’s easy to say now and Sam played really well, and we won the ball game, but really you look at it and if he had played there’s no telling how bad he’d still be hurting. I think it’s coming along and he’s doing well on his rehab and how quickly he’s getting better.”
With Brantley not at 100%, running back Jordan Hayes has delivered with 209 total yards and a pair of scores over the last two weeks.
Midland Legacy could be a chance for Ruston’s offense to light up the scoreboard, as the Rebels have allowed 34 points per game this year, including a 61-0 loss to Texas top 10 Allen and a 63- 45 loss to Euless Trinity. The Rebels have also dropped a 41-20 defeat to Texas power Lake Travis before defeating Abilene 62-42 last week.
The Rebels may be struggling this year, but Baugh said the Bearcats shouldn’t overlook their opponent’s tradition of winning, most recently a 10-3 campaign last fall. To come away with a win, Baugh wants the Bearcats to clean up their persistent penalty issues. Through three games, Ruston has 25 penalties for 232 yards.
“I think it goes right along with our inconsistency that I’ve talked about. We go in and out of streams of where we’re really focused,” Baugh said. “To me, it’s one of those where you look at the penalties and they occur when you’re not playing well. To me, you have to keep chipping away at it and get those things cleaned up because eventually it’s going to bite us in the butt.
“ They have a tradition of being a really good football team. Coach (Clint) Hartman is really well respected in the coaching community. I think their program kind of speaks for itself and their long tradition of winning ball games.”
Legacy carried their 0- 3 record into the Abilene game and also had to deal with the loss of starting quarterback Jaden Rogers, who is out for the year with an ACL injury. No problem. Sophomore JP Reyes entered the lineup last week and promptly passed for a schoolrecord 422 yards and 6 touchdowns. Ruston’s touted secondary will be faced with stopping the Legacy wide- open offense that includes receiver Aiden Serrano, who had 197 yards on 9 catches and scored 3 touchdowns a week ago.
Ruston will face its first passing offense of the season after shutting out the Lobos a week ago after halftime.
That was an important factor in the game with Longview leading 10-7 at the half.
Ruston scored on a big play (59-yard run) by Jordan Hayes and then put the game on ice late with a time-consuming drive keyed by a big Brantley to Joran Parker completion inside the 10. Brantley scored from the one to give the Cats its final margin of victory.
Sophomore Jayden Anding was huge in the first half in picking off his first two interceptions of his career, while Zheric Hill led the team with 10 tackles.
The Rebels will be also be tasked with stopping a Ruston offense that has been efficient through three weeks. The Legacy secondary is its strenth, led by safety Cole Neatherlin and corner Weldon Cooks.
No.1 Ruston puts its 17-game winning streak on the line at 2 p.m. Saturday.
