No. 2 Karr outlasts No. 1 Ruston 21-14 in Superdome

NEW ORLEANS – Jerrod Baugh stressed to his team on the Caesars Superdome field that Saturday afternoon did not define the Ruston Bearcats’ season. 

The Bearcats (2-1) had just lost a hard-fought battle against Edna Karr, 21-14, when senior quarterback Sam Hartwell’s desperation jump ball toward seniors Ahmad Hudson and Josiah Morgan in the corner of the end zone hit the turf with no time remaining on the clock. 

It was Karr’s 30th victory in a row, and the Bearcats’ third straight loss at the Superdome. It was also a game that Baugh thinks might help them break that losing streak in December. 

“You don’t have to win this ball game to win a state championship,” Baugh told his team after the game. “What you can’t do is live in this game. You understand what I’m saying? This ball game ain’t the one that we’re trying to win anyway … at the end of the day, it’s a week 3 ball game. We’ve got a bunch of ball games left. Use it to get better.”

The game was billed as a matchup between the top two teams in Louisiana. Ruston entered with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s top ranking in Class 5A, while Karr (3-0) carried the No. 2 ranking. 

Despite an electric atmosphere in the Superdome, the Bearcats got off to a terrible start. 

Karr took the opening drive of the game in for a score, courtesy of Jermond Macklin’s 3-yard touchdown run. The Cougars intercepted Sam Hartwell on the Bearcats’ first drive, setting up a short field that led to an 11-yard TD run by Macklin. 

Less than eight minutes into the game, Ruston trailed by 14. 

“I think we slept-walked through the first two or three possessions in the first quarter,” Baugh said. “You can’t spot a team like that 14 points early in the game. I thought defensively we kind of hung in there. They scored seven points after the first couple of possessions there.”

After the slow start, Dalen Powell and the Bearcats woke up in a big way. Powell answered Karr’s second score with a 71-yard TD run less than a minute later, and Powell’s 14-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter tied the game at 14. 

Keilan Davis’ interception late in the second quarter kept the game tied heading into halftime. 

Baugh lamented the Bearcats’ “missed opportunities” on Saturday, adding his team struggled with inconsistency on both sides of the ball. 

Ruston looked ready to take the lead on the first possession of the second half, marching into Karr territory after a successful fake punt in which senior punter Joaquin Ramos connected with Davis for a fourth-down conversion. 

Baugh said the Bearcats had been working on the fake for several seasons, but they were unable to take advantage of the big play and the drive stalled. 

“You’ve got to capitalize on big plays like that, and we just fizzled out,” Baugh said. “We didn’t do the things necessary to get the ball in the end zone. You can’t do that against good football teams like that.”

Baugh credited Karr for its execution, especially on the defensive side of the ball as the Cougars pressured Hartwell all game long. He said the Cougars “played hard (and) are used to winning football games.” The Bearcats failed to match their intensity. 

Karr coach Brice Brown said he was proud of the performance of his young team, which replaced roughly 25 college signees, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. 

“I thought we tackled well,” Brown said. “They have a lot of Division I players over there. Sometimes people get back at you. Last year, signing all of those guys, and then going against a team that has the same amount of talent that we always have is refreshing.”

Karr took the lead on Macklin’s third touchdown of the game, a 3-yarder with 9:31 remaining in the game, and the Cougar defense made several defensive stops down the stretch. 

Ruston got one unexpected shot at winning the game in the final seconds. After one final defensive stop, Karr botched the snap over the punter’s head to set up the Bearcats at the 16-yard line.

But Hartwell bobbled the snap and took a sack, leaving just one second on the clock after the Bearcats hustled to spike the ball. His final heave fell harmlessly to the Superdome turf as the Cougars celebrated victory. 

Powell rushed for 119 yards and two scores to lead a Bearcat offense that was limited to just 234 yards of offense in a game dominated by defense. Hartwell finished 12-of-27 for 104 yards, connecting four times each with Morgan (33 yards) and Hudson (29 yards). 

The Bearcat defense, meanwhile, held Karr to 259 yards of total offense. Marlon Jones led the Cougars with 73 rushing yards, mostly in the second half, while Macklin added 58. 

Despite Saturday’s loss, Baugh reiterated that the Bearcats have big games remaining on the schedule, beginning with next week’s game against Catholic of Baton Rouge at Hoss Garrett Stadium. 

“I want ‘em to come back to work tomorrow afternoon,” Baugh said. “We’ve got video. We’re gonna lift weights. We’re gonna get after it. And after all of that is over, when they show up Monday, it’s all about Catholic.”