Ruston trailed Neville nearly all 48 minutes Friday — until a 22-yard strike from quarterback Sam Hartwell to Josiah Morgan with 21 seconds remaining snatched the Bearcats’ first late when it mattered most.
The touchdown throw lifted the visitors, 41-37, as the exclamation mark on a three-score rally in the final minutes to stun the Bill Ruple Stadium crowd in one of the most memorable installments yet of the northeast Louisiana rivals’ often-dramatic 100-game series.
“We knew the free safety was going to roll with (star tight end) Ahmad (Hudson) because we’d just taken a shot to him, so we checked to the post over the middle,” Hartwell said after guiding the comeback. “Nobody was there, and we completed it.”
The dagger capped a wild final eight minutes.
Neville’s Steven Hanlon had just intercepted Hartwell to set the Tigers up at the Ruston 22-yard line — seemingly the final blow as a prime opportunity to run more clock and add to a late 37-20 lead.
Instead, junior linebacker Keilan Davis forced a fumble that rolled into the end zone for a Bearcat touchback. A few snaps later, Hartwell hit Dalen Powell on a screen that turned into a 64‑yard touchdown to trim the margin to 37‑27. The ensuing onside kick bounced to Ruston’s Hayden Clark, and Hartwell finished that drive himself with an 8‑yard keeper to slice the margin to three.
When Davis and Ra’Keem Potts bowed up with a pair of sacks to force a Neville three‑and‑out, the Bearcats seized one last chance — and capitalized on it.
Neville (4‑3, 1‑1) owned the first half behind quarterback Parker Robinson’s deep strikes and a balanced run game. Robinson threw an 87‑yard touchdown to Emaude Sledge — a highlight of Robinson’s 291-yard night —while backs Ja’Marion Roberson and Jarvis Blackston combined for a pair of rushing scores to give the Tigers a 23-13 lead at half.
Ruston coach Jerrod Baugh said the halftime message was simple: “You just have to get back out and believe you can win. We were only down 10, but it felt like 40. In reality, it was a two‑possession game — you just have to play hard.”
Neville defensive back Julian “JuJu” Burns’ fumble recovery in the end zone to open the second half stretched the Tigers’ lead to 30‑13 before Powell responded with a 29-yard run that made it 30‑20 entering the fourth.
Robinson and Sledge connected for another bomb to start the fourth and extend the advantage to 37-20.
But the Tigers would not find the end zone again, as Ruston authored its thrilling comeback as the final chapter of the landmark meeting between the two NELA powerhouses.
