Ouachita Parish stuns Ruston, 21-20, with late score, takeaway

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Ouachita Parish completed its revenge tour right into the history books Saturday in dramatic fashion.

The No. 14 Lions (11-4) shook off a slow start and lingering deficit in the Division-I Non-Select title game the same way they had four straight district losses and battled back to stun No. 1 Ruston (11-3) with highlight-reel plays on both sides of the ball late to snatch the 21-20 victory and their first state championship since 1989.

“The game tonight is really representative, especially in the second half, of our football season this year,” coach Benjy Lewis said. “I think there was a time that most people in the state and definitely the people in our area would’ve counted us out and said that we were gonna be a one-and-done, and these guys thought different. This group of guys is one of the most resilient groups I’ve been around.”

Ruston had scored on its first possession of the afternoon and held its lead well into the fourth quarter after swarming a Ouachita Parish fourth down early in the period to maintain its 20-14 advantage.

But the Lions forced a quick punt right back, and three plays later Montrell Conner Jr. rolled out away from pressure and heaved a 30-yard shot into the end zone where fellow senior Wydell Clark Jr. cut between and leaped over a pair of defenders for a game-tying circus catch that set up the go-ahead extra-point by Kameron Gayle.

“I didn’t have a deep route. I had a stop route,” Clark said. “But ‘Trell was scrambling. I knew I could take the DB, so I pointed up to tell him to throw it up. And when I caught it, I was wondering why everybody wasn’t trying to tackle me and I heard everybody was cheering, so I was guessing I scored.”

The Bearcats appeared to have a potential answer brewing, particularly with a long fourth-down conversion eight plays later well into Ouachita territory.

Junior wide receiver Josiah Morgan took a reverse, stopped and find junior tight end Ahmad Hudson, who split two defenders, through off a third and went winding 43 yards into the red zone.

But Clark, one of the first Lions eluded near midfield, hustled all the way back to chase down the play and strip loose the fumble which fellow senior defensive back Dylan Johnson pounced upon for the recovery.

“I don’t know where I came from, but I saw him, once he caught the ball, he was making moves and he kept swinging the ball every move,” Clark said. “Every move, he was yanking the ball away from his body, so I was like, ‘I know I can catch him, but what am I gonna do when I catch him?’ And when I caught him, I just reached for the ball and then I saw my teammate fall on the ball.”

Ruston coach Jerrod Baugh and staff worked to regroup the players from the emotional moment to force a punt and earn another chance with 46 seconds remaining.

But Ouachita punter Trey Johnson boomed a 60-yard into the end zone, and the Bearcats only had enough time to set up a 52-yard field-goal attempt that came up well short.

“I’m very proud of this football team — as always,” Baugh said. “Win or lose, the football game doesn’t decide who you are as a person or how good of a football team we are. These kids, they battled all the way to the end of the ball game, and that’s what they’ve done all year. We just happened to win more than we lost, and this one hurts worse because it was the last one.”

This article will be updated…

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

5:55 — RHS — Sam Hartwell 4-yard rush (Joaquin Ramos kick) — RHS 7-0

SECOND QUARTER

10:45 — RHS — Ahmad Hudson 59-yard pass from Sam Hartwell (Joaquin Ramos kick) — RHS 14-0
6:44 — OPHS — Macario Dade Jr. 27-yard run (Kameron Gayle kick) — RHS 14-7
1:51 — RHS — Joaquin Ramos 37-yard field goal — RHS 17-7

THIRD QUARTER

3:33 — OPHS — Macario Dade Jr. 3-yard run (Kameron Gayle kick) — RHS 17-14
0:46 — RHS — Joaquin Ramos 38-yard field goal — RHS 20-14

FOURTH QUARTER

6:41 — OPHS — Wydell Clark Jr. 30-yard pass from Montrell Conner Jr. (Kameron Gayle kick) — OPHS 21-20