Parish action begins Thursday with RHS at Franklin
, buddy@rustonleader.com
11-02-2009
One more week.That’s the assignment for Lincoln Parish teams and other members of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.
The 2009 football regular season will conclude before postseason competition kicks off.
And for the parish, the final week begins Thursday with Ruston High going to Winnsboro for a District 3-4A meeting against Franklin Parish.
That contest will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Both the date and starting time for the regular season finale has changed in order to avoid a conflict with the Friday night Western Athletic Conference duel set for Joe Aillet Stadium between Louisiana Tech and Boise State.
Originally, the Bearcats and Patriots were going to meet on Friday at 7 p.m.
“This change wouldn’t have been possible without Franklin Parish High,” said RHS head coach Billy Laird. “This is something they didn’t have to do, but agreed to the change and we appreciate it.”
The parish’s other two prep grid teams will be winding up their regular slate on Friday.
Cedar Creek will go to Monroe to face Ouachita Christian in District 2-1A and Grambling High remains at home for a 1-1A contest against Logansport.
Kickoff times will be 7 p.m. for both games.
The Bearcats (7-2, 3-1) and Cougars (3-6, 2-2) came away winners this past weekend, while the Kittens (6-3, 3-2) took a defeat.
Ruston captured its third straight win with a hard-earned 21-14 home victory against Monroe Wossman, Cedar Creek gained an 8-6 District 2-1A triumph over Delhi High and Grambling suffered a 22-7 loss to 1-1A rival Arcadia.
The Bearcats put up all of their scores in the first half, then held back a Wildcats’ comeback in the final two quarters with strong defensive work.
“We came out mentally ready to play,” said Laird. “Our kids were focused. They realized how big the game was after Wossman had beaten Bastrop earlier. We had stressed all week how important it was to be ready to play well against them. I thought we came out and really got some early momentum and then the defense had some big stops for us in the final half.”
Ruston scored on its first possession via three-yard run from running back Carlos Wilson midway through the opening period.
Two more touchdowns resulted in the second quarter, one of them being a five-yard run by Wilson, who ended with a game-high 101 yards on 23 carries.
Also counting for the ‘Cats was sophomore tight end Mario Howard on a 14-yard throw from quarterback Colby Johnson.
Ruston’s two Johnsons also played key roles in the offense finishing with 257 rushing yards.
Junior Ja’Ren Johnson had 63 yards and a 4.8 average on 13 carries and Colby produced for 6.8 yards per carry off of 81 yards on 12 carries.
Howard (two-for-32) and Wilson (two-for-87) were the key starts for Colby, as Carlos got 75 of his yards on a reception that helped set up the TD pass.
Three turnovers allowed Wossman to get back in the game during the final half, but clutch plays by the Bearcats’ defense stalled two scoring threats that began inside of Ruston’s 40-yard line.
“We just need to carry this over to the game at Franklin Parish,” said Laird. “Our players realize we have the opportunity to be 8-2, so this is a big final regular season game for us.”
Cedar Creek ended a two-game losing streak with a muddy win over Delhi, which lost for the fourth consecutive week.
In a game marked by defensive prowess, the Cougars got the edge on a 10-yard touchdown run by running back Austin Ginn and two-point conversion pass from quarterback Jordan Scelfo to wideout Robert Feron in the third quarter.
Key defensive stops by the Cougars in the fourth quarter kept the Bears from pulling out a win.
Ginn finished as the game’s top rusher with 93 yards on 14 carries and Scelfo added 77 ground yards and another 149 yards passing.
Grambling High suffered its third straight loss against a continuing-to-surge Arcadia club that has now improved its winning streak to eight games; the Hornets’ win over the No. 9 ranked Kittens might move Arcadia ahead of GHS when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announce their 1A state poll Monday afternoon.
The Kittens’ touchdown came on a 50-yard pass from quarterback Jockese Goree to wideout Jamarcus Mackray.
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