BEARCAT BEAT
BEAR CAT
2 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM
EMERALD MCINTYRE/THE NEWS-STAR
Ruston quarterback C.J. Willis (16) hands the ball off to Jessie Sawyer during the Bearcats’ game with the East Ascension Spartans on Friday.
Ruston focused on taking next step as program Ruston schedule
SEAN ISABELLA SISABELLA@THENEWSSTAR.COM
RUSTON — As Ruston coach Brad Laird reflects back on the 2016 season, he’ll remember the regular season success but won’t forget the Bearcats’ early exit from the Class 5A playoffs. Ruston finished 8-2 in the regular season, an accomplishment that has happened just three times since 1990. Just as quickly as the Bearcats celebrated the feat, the season soured with a 38-14 loss to East Ascension last week in the opening round of the playoffs. “Once I dismiss the seniors, that’s one thing we’re going to talk about. Eight and two is great. It was a heck of a regular season, great accomplishments. Third time since 1990, but now we’ve got to get over the hump,” Laird said. “What’s our next step? “As we get through the regular season, what are we going to accomplish in the playoffs, and how are we going to gear ourselves for that? I definitely think the extra motivation of what happened in the first round will carry over to these guys. They understand the importance of the offseason.” Laird said one of Ruston’s mottos and
Sept. 2 Neville L 30-14 Sept. 9 at East Feliciana W 45-18 Sept. 16 at Airline W 29-19 Sept. 23 Jonesboro-Hodge W 49-7 Sept. 30 Wossman W 28-0 Oct. 7 at West Monroe L 33-17 Oct. 14 at Pineville W 33-6 Oct. 21 Alexandria W 31-14 Oct. 28 Ouachita W 34-28 Nov. 4 at Natchitoches Central W 34-7 Nov. 11 East Ascension L 38-14* * Playoffs
goals for 2017 will center around building off the regular season. Early exit aside, Laird feels good about where the program is heading, as Ruston welcomes back several key contributors from the 2016 season. They include quarterback C.J. Willis, running back Jessie Sawyer, wide receiver Donald Johnson and defensive end Tahj Samuel, among others. “Huge with the leadership part. Those guys are high-character kids that do what they’re supposed to do in the weight room,” Laird said. “They’re on time. They do the right thing. The 52 freshmen
RUSTON
in January and mix with the other 68 we have, the core group are the ones they’ll follow.” Ruston does lose three starting offensive linemen, wide receiver Carlos Hunt and notable defenders in linebacker Corey Mamon and safety Jamal Jackson, but the majority of the production came from underclassmen. Laird said the annual questions of how
BEARCATS
a team will jell is what makes high school football “so fun.” Ruston was a bit of a surprise team in 5A, earning the sixth seed in the playoffs despite dealing with injuries throughout the year. Three different quarterbacks took snaps due to injury, but the Bearcats overcome any chemistry issues by winning eight of their last nine games in the regular season. “I thought the development and the chemistry of this team allowed us to have the success we were (having). Once I saw the makeup of this football team, I said, ‘Heck, let’s see what will happen,’” Laird said. The two regular season losses came to traditional powers Neville and West Monroe. Ruston rallied to beat Airline with 15 points in the fourth quarter and later beat Ouachita in overtime. “I was real proud the way the kids handled that. That in turn was the success we had on the field to be able to win eight football games,” Laird said. “Some of those games when we had to come from behind, I thought that exemplified what this team was about. They never quit no matter what circumstance.”
ABOUTTHESECTION EXECUTIVEEDITOR JeffGauger
SPORTSPLANNINGEDITOR ScottFerrell
PHOTOEDITOR HannahBaldwin
NEWSDIRECTOR MarkHenderson
SPORTSSTAFF CodyFutrell AdamHunsucker SeanIsabella
PHOTOGRAPHERS TomMorris EmeraldMcIntyre HenriettaWildsmith
ADVERTISINGDIRECTOR MichaelRomaguera
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM
BEAR CAT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
3
4 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
BEAR CAT
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM
EMERALD MCINTYRE/THE NEWS-STAR
East Ascension's Ralph Williams (20) runs past a group of Bearcat defenders during Friday night's playoff game at L.J. "Hoss" Garrett Stadium in Ruston.
No. 6 Ruston upset by East Ascension as season ends SEAN ISABELLA
SISABELLA@THENEWSSTAR.COM
RUSTON — If the average prep football fan didn’t know any better, East Ascension, not Ruston, looked like the No. 6 seed in the Class 5A playoffs. Just as Ruston coach Brad Laird warned the public earlier in the week, seeding is irrelevant when it comes playoff time. That sure was the case Friday. No. 6 Ruston was completely overmatched by No. 27 East Ascension, as the Bearcats were sent packing early with a 38-14 loss in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs at James Field. “They came in here and we knew seeds weren’t going to matter with them because of what they endured early in the season with the flood, and they won the last three games,” Laird said following the game. “First of all, give them credit. We didn’t take advantage of some opportunities early to gain some momentum.” Running behind a massive offensive line that included 6-foot-7, 300-pound left tackle Adrian Ealy, East Ascension running back Ralph Williams had a career night with 26 carries for 254 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Spartans
(4-6) totaled 343 yards rushing and 387 yards of total offense. For the third straight game Ruston (8-3) got off to a slow start. This time, the Bearcats were without any magic. Ruston scored twice in the second half to keep the game interesting, but it was never close with East Ascension providing the answers. The Bearcats made it a two-possession game on a 15-yard scamper from quarterback C.J. WIllis, who rolled right on a broken play and snuck inside the pylon on the right sideline to trim East Ascension’s lead to 21-7 with 4:27 to play in the third quarter. Tahj Samuel plowed in from 2 yards out midway through the fourth quarter to make it 28-14. As wide as the smiles were in the East Ascension huddle after the game, the faces were just as long for Ruston. The Bearcats’ 8-2 regular season, one that was full of overcoming injuries, came to an end just as quickly as it started. “We didn’t want to have this meeting tonight that you have on the field after a loss, but there’s a lot they can take away from what they learned throughout this season that’s going to help them in life,” Laird said.
East Ascension, meanwhile, won its fourth game in a row. The devastating floods in south Louisiana canceled the Spartans’ opener and slowed their start to the season to the point where they needed three straight wins just to qualify for the playoffs. “They played with a chip on their shoulders. Just to get into the playoffs after the start we had was a blessing,” East Ascension coach Darnell Lee said. “We just wanted to make the most of the opportunity.” East Ascension rolled to 189 rushing yards in the first half and held a 233-142 yard advantage at the break. Willis was under constant siege, and Ruston’s offense couldn’t gain much traction. Ruston allowed nine sacks, and Willis finished just 12-for-23 for 149 yards. Jessie Sawyer was the lone constant source of offense, finishing with 16 carries for 109 yards. “We got behind the sticks a lot of first down. That happened a lot. It’s hard to overcome,” Laird said. Ruston punted on its first three possessions. The fourth went back to East Ascension on a turnover on downs. East Ascension sacked Willis on
fourth-and-4 to end the Bearcats’ best drive of the half. Two plays before, Willis overthrew a streaking Donald Johnson for what would have been a 48-yard touchdown. Ruston was able to stop East Ascension on its first possession via an interception in the red zone, but not the second time. Shaivonn Robinson took a short pass in the flat 23 yards for a touchdown. A 2-point conversion on a fake extra point made it 8-0 early in the second quarter. East Ascension ran the ball right at Ruston as part of an eight-play, 51-yard drive. Jimel London scooted in for an 8yard score to make it 15-0. A converted fake punt changed the momentum of the first half, and for the game for that matter. East Ascension motioned out of a punt formation and put in quarterback Cameron Schexnaydre, who rolled to his right and lofted a 16yard pass to Adrian Johnson. The fourth-down conversion led to the third score of the half. Williams punched in a 4-yard score to give East Ascension a 21-0 lead. “They probably kind of overpowered us a bit with some of their size,” Laird said. “We had some misfits early in the running game.”
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM
BEAR CAT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
5
6 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
BEAR CAT
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM
BEAR CAT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
7
8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
BEAR CAT
BEAR CAT
WWW.THENEWSSTAR.COM