Bearcats take 3-0 mark on second straight road trip
, buddy@rustonleader.com
09-21-2009
Late Friday night, not long after his team had defeated Ouachita 16-7 in Monroe, Ruston High head coach Billy Laird was being congratulated by Sean Fox of ESPN 97.7 FM for being unbeaten after three games.Rather than speak to any further expectations that might go with holding a “perfect” card as the first month of the season nears, Laird quipped:
“Well, you can’t go unbeaten without winning the first three.”
Laird and the Bearcats have a good excuse for being upbeat and feeling confident, given that they knocked off a previous nemesis from the 5A ranks in Ouachita, have a Top 10 ranking for the state’s Quad-A programs and are continuing to improve with each game.
“The players were mentally ready to play Friday night,” he said about the road showdown against Ouachita, a club that outlasted RHS 10-3 at James Stadium last year and has traditionally been a pain in the shoulder pads for the Bearcats through the years.
“This was a big game because it was against one of four former district rivals and it was our first test on the road. We weren’t sure how we might respond, but our players were very focused and did a great job of handling the conditions and everything else.”
Had the win been achieved on a dry field, it would have been big enough.
The fact that the Bearcats got this one under conditions that resembled a monsoon at times made it even more noteworthy.
“We turned the football over only one time and had only two penalties,” Laird said. “Austin Wright, our center, had only one bad snap the whole night. I really want to single him out for doing such a great job under the circumstances.
“I thought our entire team, as a whole, did a great job in dealing with the conditions. To have only one snap to go bad and to have only one turnover on this kind of night, it really speaks well to the focus of our players.”
The Bearcats had scoring plays of no less than 33 yards, the latter number being placed beside the name of senior placekicker Colt Dunbar for the field goal he booted through in the third quarter to give his team a 10-7 lead.
“Snapper Beau Russell, holder Michael Welch and Colt all did a tremendous job under the conditions in making that field goal successful,” Laird said. “The timing was perfect. I can’t say enough about how well they did in making that work.”
Junior running back JaRen Johnson had a 55-yard TD run from scrimmage and junior quarterback Colby Johnson found senior wide receiver Markeece Bolds on a victory-assuring 73-yard pass in the third quarter.
“That’s something that we had been looking for, but been unable to get until this game,” Laird of the long TD hookup. “Initially, it was designed to go to the short side with Donovan Price as the intended receiver, but Colby saw the linebacker jump on him and then went to Bolds on a post route. Colby did a great job of getting it out there and right on the line and then Markeece quickly put some distance between him and the defender.”
Providing crisp blocking for the offense to succeed were interior members Lyle Smithey, Josh Brasseal, Casey Turner, Joseph Brunson, Raytez Eilliott and Wright.
Defensively, the Bearcats muddied up the Lions’ hopes of matching the point totals they achieved in their previous two games (34 against Monroe Neville, 47 against Rayville).
Quarterback Quinton Wheeler, who had 300 total offensive yards in the victory over Rayville, was limited to 169 and only 40 of that came on the sloppy turf.
If KXKZ-FM announcers Nick White and Mark Cramer weren’t sure of who to call out for tackles for the Bearcats, they couldn’t have gone wrong with naming Tra Pringle.
“I looked at the film this morning,” Laird said Saturday,” and it seemed like he was on every play. We had players flying to the football. That’s the way our defense has been playing this year.”
The Bearcats’ offense totaled 241 yards and mixed it up with equal parts of the run (139) and pass (102). JaRen Johnson had 82 yards on 10 carries, Colby Johnson threw for 105 yards and senior running back Carlos Wilson had four catches for 23 yards.
Wilson also handled the punting duties for the first time and came through with flying…er, maybe muddy colors if you will….on Friday night. The RHS student president who carries nearly a 3.8 grade point average got a good report card with a 39.4 average that included a long of 48 yards.
“That was a big, big difference in the game,” Laird said, “and Carlos did an outstanding job with it. One of his punts put them back at their own four-yard line once.”
With top-ranked Salmen being edged 24-23 in overtime by John Curtis Friday night, the Bearcats are due to either remain at No. 7 or move up one notch when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announce their weekly rankings today.
More than the polls, however, the Bearcats are concerned with simply continuing to get better.
“This win against Ouachita should be a confidence builder for us,” Laird said.
“This is a mature bunch of kids who are staying very focused on what needs to be done.”
And so far, they’re perfect.
That’s something nobody can take away from them right now, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.
•••••
Prep sizeup
Recapping and previewing Lincoln Parish high school football action:
• Last week’s results: RUSTON 16, Monroe Ouachita 7; Natchitoches St. Mary’s 33, CEDAR CREEK 25; GRAMBLING 45, Northwood Lena.
• This week’s games (Friday): RUSTON at Sulphur, 7 p.m.; GRAMBLING, home, vs. Madison Parish, 7 p.m.; CEDAR CREEK, home, vs. Many, 7 p.m.
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