Ruston Shuts Out West Monroe 14-0; Evangel Christian Academy Defeats Ouachita 21-14 in 2nd Day of Bayou Jamb

On the second day of a loaded Bayou Jamboree lineup, four of North Louisiana’s biggest programs went at it for half a game. In one of the state’s biggest jamboree events, the Bayou Jamb has 10 of the best teams going at it.

Game 1: Evangel Christian Academy vs. Ouachita Parish

The first game of the double header on Friday featured a matchup between Evangel Christian Academy and Ouachita Parish.

Considering it was half a game, there was a lot of scoring between both teams. Unsurprisingly, the Evangel Christian Academy Eagles, under head coach Denny Duron, scored three touchdowns with their explosive plays.

The Eagles scored two of those touchdowns in the first half as they took a 13-0 lead early. It was Evangel’s special teams that immediately got them the lead with an 86 yard touchdown kickoff return from Tyreek Robinson. However, that was not the last time that the speedy Robinson would make a play as he took a bubble screen from Peyton Fulghum and turned it 76 yards for his second touchdown.

The second half started just like the first half started and that was another kickoff return for a touchdown. This time, it was Ouachita’s turn as Wydell Clark returned the favor with a 96 yard kickoff touchdown to pull within six at 13-7.

The Lions, led by first year head coach Benjy Lewis, came back and did end up taking the lead at 14-13 with a two yard touchdown run from Tylon Gibson.

Unfortunately, for the Lions, the lead did not last long as the Eagles responded with a two yard touchdown run from Damarion Drake plus a two point conversion with the Fulghum brothers in Peyton and Parker hooking up to give them a 21-14 lead.

That would end up being the game winning score. Both Wydell Clark and Tyreek Robinson, who scored kickoff returns for touchdowns, were named Players of the Game.

Evangel will go into week one playing against Neville on the road while Ouachita will start their regular season against Archbishop Rummel at home.

Game 2: Ruston vs. West Monroe

The Friday nightcap was the Bayou Jamb’s hottest headliner featuring two of the state’s biggest powerhouses in North Louisiana with the Ruston Bearcats taking on the West Monroe Rebels.

The Bearcats, led by head coach Jerrod Baugh, are coming off a Division I (Non-Select) State Championship runner-up finish last season, and are looking for another run to the Superdome.

Ruston’s high powered rushing attack returns Jordan Hayes for another season and the Bearcats’ star running back had another productive day at the office rushing for two touchdown runs. The first one came from 43 yards out while the second touchdown came from 10 yards out. Hayes was named Player of the Game as he finished the contest with 8 carries for 74 yards and the two scores.

The Ruston offense also got some good contributions from quarterback Josh Brantley, running back Dylone Brooks, who had 77 yards rushing on the ground, and wide receiver Lander Smith, who was the leading pass catcher with two catches for 72 yards including a 56 yard reception.

While the Bearcats’ rushing attack was clicking so was its stellar defense, which was a big reason for their great run last fall. Led by All-State linebacker Jadon Mayfield, Zheric Hill, Semaj Jones, LSU commit Ahmad Breaux, and Tulane commit Geordan Guidry, the defense pitched a shutout against the West Monroe Rebels offense giving up less than 100 yards of total offense.

Although the Rebels offense struggled, there were some splash plays made by the offense including a 31 yard reception from David Moore. The Rebels also have some good news that their quarterback Hayden Federico will be back with the team for their season opener. Defensively, Cole Michael Stephens earned MVP honors for the Rebels.

For the second year in a row, the Bearcats were victorious over the Rebels to start off the season in the Bayou Jamboree.

Ruston will begin their regular season next week against Warren Easton at home while the Todd Garvin era at West Monroe will begin against Sterlington next week.

Stats:

W. Monroe Rebels 2023 VS Ruston Bearcats 2023 at Rebel Stadium on 08/25/2023
Team	W. Monroe Rebels 2023	Ruston Bearcats 2023
Points Scored	0	14
First Downs	5	10
By Rush/Pass/Penalty	1/2/2	7/2/1
3rd Downs Made/Att/Eff	0/7/0	1/5/20
4th Downs Made/Att/Eff	0/1/0	1/1/100
Total Yards/Avg Per Play	76/2.6	230/7.7
Total Yards Rushing	23	183
Rushing Att/Avg	13/1.8	23/8.0
Total Yards Passing	56	72
Pass Att/Comp/Int	15/5/0	6/2/0
Average Yards Per Pass	3.7	12.0
Punts/Avg	5/36.0	3/33.0
Punt Returns/Yds/Avg	1/2/2	4/38/10
Punts Blocked	0	0
Kickoff Returns/Yds/Avg	2/14/7	1/22/22
Fumbles/Lost	0/0	1/1
Total Turnovers	0	1
Penalties/Yards	1/15	3/30
Sacks/Yards	1/10	1/3
Touchdowns	0	2
TDs Rush/Pass	0/0	2/0
Field Goal Att/Made	0/0	0/0
Time Of Possession	23:45	12:15

Individual Stats for Ruston Bearcats 2023
No	Passer	Att	Com	Com%	Int	Yds	Lng	TDs	YPP	YPC	QBR
3	Josh Brantley	6	2	33.3	0	72	56	0	12.0	36.0	79.9
No	Rusher	Att	Yds	Lost	Net	Long	TDs	Avg
0	Jordan Hayes	8	74	0	74	39	2	9.2
3	Josh Brantley	3	32	0	32	19	0	10.7
26	Dylone Brooks	10	79	2	77	34	0	7.7
8	Logan Malone	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
22	Jadon Mayfield	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
	TEAM TOTALS	23	185	2	183	39	2	8.0
No	Receiver	Rec	Yds	Long	TDs	Avg
10	Lander Smith	2	72	56	0	36.0
No	Punter	Punts	Yds	Long	Avg	TBs	20	Blkd
99	Will Fendley	3	99	38	33.0	0	1	0
No	FG Kicker	FG Att	Gd	Long	Blkd	FG%	EPAtt	Gd	Blkd	EP%
99	Will Fendley	0	0	0	0	0.0	1	1	0	100.0
43	Jack Elliot	0	0	0	0	0.0	1	1	0	100.0
	TEAM TOTALS	0	0	0	0	0.0	2	2	0	100.0
No	Returner	P Rets	Yds	Long	Avg	TDs	K Rets	Yds	Long	Avg	TDs
5	Nate Johnson	4	38	14	9.5	0	0	0	0	0.0	0
0	Jordan Hayes	0	0	0	0.0	0	1	22	22	22.0	0
	TEAM TOTALS	4	38	14	9.5	0	1	22	22	22.0	0
No	Defender	Ta	TPG	As	Sa	SPG	Int	ITD	PB	FR	BP	BFG
21	Zheric Hill	4	4.0	0	1	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Jacoryian Crowe	5	5.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Nate Johnson	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
94	Peyton Bell	2	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Fabian Stringfellow	2	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	Jadon Mayfield	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Aidan Anding	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
63	Ka’Varion Key	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	Jeremiah Freeman	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Semaj Jones	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TEAM TOTALS	19	19.0	0	1	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Individual Stats for W. Monroe Rebels 2023
No	Passer	Att	Com	Com%	Int	Yds	Lng	TDs	YPP	YPC	QBR
6	Ryder Dejean	10	4	40.0	0	43	31	0	4.3	10.8	53.3
1	Cayden Cunningham	3	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	39.6
10	Luke Vallery	2	1	50.0	0	13	13	0	6.5	13.0	70.8
	TEAM TOTALS	15	5	33.3	0	56	31	0	3.7	11.2	45.4
No	Rusher	Att	Yds	Lost	Net	Long	TDs	Avg
26	Christian Ponti	7	8	6	2	3	0	0.3
8	Terrance Allen	1	1	0	1	1	0	1.0
22	Kedrian McNeil	3	23	7	16	23	0	5.3
1	Cayden Cunningham	1	6	0	6	6	0	6.0
7	David Moore	1	0	2	-2	0	0	-2.0
	TEAM TOTALS	13	38	15	23	23	0	1.8
No	Receiver	Rec	Yds	Long	TDs	Avg
7	David Moore	2	39	31	0	19.5
4	Trez Davis	1	3	3	0	3.0
11	Grant Edmondson	2	14	13	0	7.0
	TEAM TOTALS	5	56	31	0	11.2
No	Punter	Punts	Yds	Long	Avg	TBs	20	Blkd
31	Daniel Lane	5	180	40	36.0	0	1	0
No	FG Kicker	FG Att	Gd	Long	Blkd	FG%	EPAtt	Gd	Blkd	EP%
No	Returner	P Rets	Yds	Long	Avg	TDs	K Rets	Yds	Long	Avg	TDs
7	David Moore	1	2	2	2.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0
16	Lukas Dupriest	0	0	0	0.0	0	1	0	0	0.0	0
11	Grant Edmondson	0	0	0	0.0	0	1	14	14	14.0	0
	TEAM TOTALS	1	2	2	2.0	0	2	14	14	7.0	0
No	Defender	Ta	TPG	As	Sa	SPG	Int	ITD	PB	FR	BP	BFG
28	J.Q. Turner	5	5.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Jase Adams	2	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Cayden Cunningham	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
47	Smoltz Lilly	2	2.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Sam Regan	6	6.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Trez Davis	4	4.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Caden Willis	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	Kedrian McNeil	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Brycen Federico	1	1.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0
42	Cole-Michael Stephen	3	3.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TEAM TOTALS	26	26.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Ruston Bearcats 2023	7	0	7	0	0	14
W. Monroe Rebels 2023	0	0	0	0	0	0

---

Team	Plays	Yards	Description
Ruston Bearcats 2023	8	85	at 4:30 1st Q, V, 1st D & 10, Jordan Hayes rushes for 39 for a TD
Ruston Bearcats 2023	n/a	n/a	1st Q, V, Will Fendley makes extra point
Ruston Bearcats 2023	7	55	at 2:03 3rd Q, V, 2nd D & 10, Jordan Hayes rushes for 12 for a TD
Ruston Bearcats 2023	n/a	n/a	3rd Q, V, Jack Elliot makes extra point