Unbeaten Bearcats face final test in Texas
Ruston’s defense, led by senior linebacker Zheric Hill (21), will face its final Texas test on Saturday against the Stephenville Yellowjackets. Photo by Landon Davis
The last of No. 1 Ruston’s (4- 0) battles in Texas comes Saturday against the Stephenville Yellowjackets (5-0) — a matchup of equally productive offenses and stout defenses.
Ruston will meet Stephenville for a neutral site game at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas, as the Bearcats vie for a 5-0 start to the season before returning in-state to open district play. The Bearcats have had no trouble so far in Texas, taking down Longview 21- 10 and Midland Legacy 38- 6, with the defense putting its foot down to close out games to the tune of just 16 total points allowed in the second half this year.
But Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh expects Saturday to be a bigger challenge for the Bearcats, as the Yellowjackets come in with an offense averaging 45.8 points per game and a defense allowing 15.8 points per game to opponents.
“They’re a really good football team. Similar to Ruston in a respect of they’ve got a long tradition of winning ball games and winning state championships,” Baugh said. “ For us, it’s like I was telling the kids, if you take Ruston and put that somewhere in Texas, that’s the league we’d be competing in – enroll-ment wise. For us, that should give us a little bit of motivation. We’ll have our hands full for sure on Saturday.”
Stephenville is ranked No. 2 in Class 4A Division I and has not lost since Nov. 30, 2023 – factors Baugh hopes his Bearcats aren’t overlooking. The Yellowjackets have talent at key positions as well, led by quarterback Ryan Gafford with 1,155 yards, 15 touchdowns, and no interceptions through five games. Surrounding Gafford on offense are running back Sawyer Wilkerson, who had 218 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns last week against Waco La Vega, and senior wide receiver Tristian Gentry, a Texas Tech commit, with 35 catches for 634 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.
“It concerns me they’re really big on the offensive line. We’re a little undersized in some spots up front against that,” Baugh said. “That always worries you as far as how will our guys handle those guys, and you run up the middle on those guys and they’ll soak you up and you’re not going to be able to get off and get any pass rush. If their quarterback can stay on time, that’s going to give us some problems. They can mix things up offensively and go to the screen game, quick passes, to avoid the pass rush. Hopefully we’ll play well defensively to handle all of those things.”
But Ruston’s defense has been elite this year as well, allowing 13.25 points per game while holding opponents to 14-of-43 (32.5%) on third down. The unit showcased its playmaking ability last week against Midland Legacy with senior linebacker Zheric Hill coming up big with 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, and 2 interceptions – one going for a pick six.
Jayden Anding, a sophomore defensive back, has played up to his family name so far with 3 interceptions in four games as another defensive standout. Senior linebacker Zander Hayes has put up 16 tackles and a sack, while senior defensive back Aidan Anding has 15 tackles, a fumble recovery, an interception, and a pass breakup on the season.
Last week the Bearcats jumped out quickly against Legacy thanks to Hill’s stellar play. He picked off a pass on the first defensive series that led to a Josh Brantley touchdown run and then returned his second pick 35 yards for another touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Ruston never looked back and turned it over to the defense, which hasn’t given up more than one touchdown in a game since the season-opener against Acadiana.
No. 1 Ruston (4-0) will test itself against Stephenville (5-0), Texas, at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas, on Saturday. Kickoff is set for at 2 p.m.
