Preps close out regular season
RHS, Creek play tonight; Grambling has Friday home finale
, buddy@rustonleader.com
11-05-2009
Ruston High and Cedar Creek High will bring the curtain down on their regular season schedules tonight.The Bearcats (7-2, 3-1) will try and make it four wins in a row with a 6:30 p.m. District 3-4A meeting against Franklin Parish in Winnsboro, while the Cougars (3-6, 2-2) will attempt to push their win streak to two games with a 7 p.m. District 2-1A contest in Monroe against Ouachita Christian.
On Friday, the parish’s regular season action officials comes to a close when Grambling High (6-3, 3-2) plays host to Logansport in a 1-1A game at Robinson Stadium on the campus of Grambling State University.
After this weekend, it’s on to postseason play in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and all of the parish teams are scheduled to qualify.
But first, a quick sizeup of each of the last games on the regular season slate:
RHS vs. FRANKLIN PARISH: While the No. 7 ranked Bearcats are heavy favorites, head coach Billy Laird wants to make sure his team doesn’t slip up as they did in an earlier game against Monroe Richwood, a Triple-A club that left James Stadium with a 20-0 win. “I’ve really talked to the kids about realize that, after this week, it’s one and done,” Laird said. “A game like this, it’s important to finish out on a good note and be able to go into the playoffs with some confidence.”... The latest win in the RHS streak was 21-14 at home last week against Wossman. “We came out on a good note and we were ready and focused to play,” Laird said. “But this team is still trying to find its identity. We still haven’t had a complete game to where we put it all together. We’ve had some good games, such as against Sulphur, Ouachita and Bastrop, but still not to where the offense, defense and special teams all played well on the same night.”... Junior running back Ja’Ren Johnson is leading RHS in rushing with 888 yards and six touchdowns on 105 carries, while senior running back Carlos Wilson follows with 367 yards and a club-high eight TDs on nine carries. ... Quarrterback Colby Johnson has completed 68-of-146 passes for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. ... Wilson is the Bearcats’ top receiver with 23 catches for 338 yards and a TD. ... Linebacker Tra Pringle is having an all-star season at his position with an RHS-best 125 tackles, eight quarterback hurries, five caused fumbles and three aerial breakups.
CEDAR CREEK vs. OUACHITA CHRISTIAN: One of the toughest schedules in the Class 1A ranks will send Cedar Creek into the playoffs, but an upset victory over OCS would be the perfect icing to apply to the regular season schedule. The Cougars ended a two-game loss string last week with an 8-6 finale over Delhi High on a muddy turf at the Creek stadium. ... Cedar Creek’s game-winning points against the Bearcats came on a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Jordan Scelfo to wideout Robert Feron after running back Austin Ginn had scored on a 10-yard run ... Ginn ended as the game’ s top ground gainer with 99 yards on 14 carries and has a team-leading 650 yards on 109 carries. With one carry less and 350 yards and nine touchdowns is Scelfo, who has also passed for 1,441 yards and 11 touchdowns. ... Wingback Connor Dwyer has the most receiving yards 457 yards and three touchdowns on 28 catches and is less than 50 yards away from becoming the program’s all-time leading receiver. Wideout Adam Van has the most receptions on the team this season with 34 that has resulted in 306 yards and two touchdowns and both wideout David Patterson (24-181-2) and Ginn (25-252-TD) give the Cougars additional targets with their combined 49 catches and 433 yard. ... All-State candidate Hunter Bennett has a Cougar-best 68 tackles, two sacks and 10 tackles that have resulted in negative yards.
GRAMBLING vs. LOGASPORT: The Kittens are favored to get back on the winning road against a Logansport club that lost its first six games before coming back to win two of its last three contests. ... Grambling High dropped from No. 9 to No. 11 i the weekly state poll after a 22-7 defeat at league and area rival Arcadia High last weekend. ... The Kittens had won five straight games before that defeat. ... A 50-yard pass from quarterback Rockese Goree to wideout Jamarcus Markray accounted for the GHS touchdown. ... Continuing to play key roles in the Kittens’ defense are linebacker Nick Moore and interior members Sebastian Lyons and Quinton Salsberry. ... The senior running back tandem of Kendell Denson and Rashad Conley has has produced for an average of 4.5 yards per carry for GHS.
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Recapping prepsters’ weekend
A quick review of last week’s games involving Lincoln Parish high school teams:
• ARCADIA 22, GRAMBLING 7: The Kittens had an early lead of 7-0, but couldn’t hold it against a Hornets’ team that rallied back for its eighth consecutive win.
• CEDAR CREEK 8, DELHI HIGH 6: On a sunny Saturday afternoon on their own muddy turf, the Cougars were able to edge out the Bears in a defense-dominated game.
• RUSTON 21, WOSSMAN 14: The Bearcats jumped out to a big lead early, then had to use some defensive toughness to prevent a Wildcats’ rally in the final half.
Star Watch
• JAMARCUS MARKRAY, GRAMBLING: Providing the Kittens’ only touchdown on a 50-yard pass reception.
• ROCKESE GOREE, GRAMBLING: Passed 50 yards for a touchdown to wideout Jamarcus Markray and finished with 110 yards through the air.
• AUSTIN GINN, CEDAR CREEK: Led all ground gainers with 93 yards on 14 carries, including a 10-yard scoring run.
• JORDAN SCELFO, CEDAR CREEK: Totaled 126 offensive yards and had two-point conversion pass to wideout Robert Feron which proved to be the game-winning points.
• CARLOS WILSON, RUSTON: Ended as the Bearcats’ rushing leader with 101 yards on 23 carries and had TD runs of three and five yards.
• COLBY JOHNSON, RUSTON: Passed for 113 yards and a touchdown and ran 12 times for 81 yards.
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