Third quarter the big easy for Ruston

Some times when a young offense is having trouble finding the end zone, you turn to your dominating defense.

That was the winning formula Friday night in New Orleans, as Ruston ran away from Jesuit 35-7 at Tad Gormley Stadium to even its record at 1-1 on the season.

The trend under head coach Jerrod Baugh of seizing control in the third quarter was at play again. The No. 6 Bearcats came out of the locker room of a 7-7 ballgame and flexed its defensive muscles to dominate the third quarter.

How ferocious was the RHS defense in that decisive period?

Jesuit did not manage a first down in four possessions and totaled minus- 14 yards from scrimmage.

Meanwhile, the Cats were busy scoring in just about every way you can in a football game.

Jordan Hayes sprinted in from 55 yards to give Ruston the lead for good at 14-7 with 4:05 left in the period.

Two Jesuit threeand- out possessions later, the Bearcats blocked a punt and junior cornerback Aidan Anding fell on the football in the end zone to increase the lead to 21-7 toward the end of the third.

With the game well in hand, Ruston added a few more scores in the fourth quarter. Dylone Brooks scored from 10 yards out to bump the lead to 28-7 and Samaj Jones hauled in his second interception of the night at the 3:51 mark of the fourth period.

All he did was return the pick 100 yards for a touchdown to end the scoring at 35-7.

Hayes had a bounce back game, rushing for 147 yards on 16 carries to go with his 2 TDs, while Brantley added 80 yards on 8 carries. Brooks rushed 12 times for 46 yards and a TD.

The Bearcats totaled 328 yards of offense against a defense that pitched a shutout over a good Slidell team last week.

Brantley completed only 2-of-9 passes for 46 yards with an interception but was plagued by three dropped passes. Logan Malone had one catch for 40 yards.

Defensively, Jadon Mayfield and Nate Johnson led the Ruston unit with 8 tackles apiece, while Hill added 7 of his own. Guidry and Ahmad Breaux picked up 4 tackles apiece and each had a pair of tackles for loss.

Jesuit did manage to total 250 yards on the night with a couple of late drives, but were held to a mere 134 yards on the ground on 43 attempts for an average of 3.1 per rush.

The two teams met in Ruston in 2022 and the matchup featured two physical teams that challenged each other’s defense to stop the running game between the tackles.

That was the theme once again in the first half.

Ruston had its chances to put points on the board, but a pair of turnovers, an onside kick recovered by Jesuit and a Hayes 76-yard TD run called back by a penalty kept the game knotted at 7-7.

Jesuit took advantage of the miscues to slug it out with Ruston.

The Bearcats managed to open the scoring just into the second quarter. Hayes capped off a 9- play, 78- yard drive with a 6-yard TD run to give the Cats a 7-0 lead.

Two big plays were paramount during the drive — a 28-yard run by Hayes and a 24-yard jaunt by quarterback Josh Brantley.

The Blue Jays (1-1) mounted a formidable drive of their own to answer, marching 90 yards on 12 plays for the tying score.

Twice during the drive Jesuit converted on third and long inside its own territory and finished off the drive with four out of five plays going for longer than 10 yards. Quarterback Beau Perez took it in from 16 yards out on a read option and it was a new ballgame with 6:22 to go.

Jesuit surprised the Bearcats with an onside kick and recovered but Jones came up big again from his cornerback spot.

On second and goal from the nine yard line, Jones jumped an out route and recorded his first interception of the night.

Two plays later, Hayes hit the jets once again and went 76 yards to pay dirt, but the touchdown was called back by penalty. Ruston turned the ball right back over with a fumble, but a defensive stand may have been just what the Cats needed.

A sack by Geordan Guidry and Zheric Hill forced the Jays to attempt a 32- yard field goal that veered wide right to keep the score at 7-7.

That allowed the Bearcats to regroup at halftime and the coaching staff did a fantastic job of making adjustments.

Ruston will return to the road again this week, traveling north to Arkansas to square off with Class 6A Cabot High School.