Heart of Lions: Ouachita rallies in second half past Ruston

by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

NEW ORLEANS – Five minutes after giving his team a one-point lead with a touchdown catch, Ouachita’s Wydell Clark chased after one of the nation’s top tight ends, uncertain of how it would end.

Clark’s pursuit resembled the all-out effort the Lions have exhibited throughout the state playoffs, where they became the first fifth-place district team to ever advance to a state championship game.

Ouachita wanted more notoriety, and because of its mettle, particularly examples from Clark, the No. 14 seed Lions watched a 52-yard field goal attempt from Ruston’s Joaquin Ramos fall short on the final play of Saturday’s game for a 21-20 victory in the Caesers Superdome.

“These guys had to overcome a huge obstacle in that people may have thought it was a pipe dream for Ouachita to be state champions,” Ouachita coach Benjy Lewis said. “These guys did it, and there wasn’t a road map for it. These guys showed just what they can do when their backs are against the wall and what a shining light, the example, for future Ouachita Lions.”

The Lions (11-4) won the Division I non-select state championship, ending a 27-year drought since the school’s first state crown. They were state runners-up in 1994.

Clark slipped inside of Ruston’s defensive back near the goal line, bringing down a 30-yard touchdown that he secured against his helmet before hitting the turf. Kameron Gayle’s extra point made it 21-20 with 6:41 remaining.

“I had a stop route,” Clark said. “Montrell was scrambling, and I knew I could take the DB. I was pointing, telling him to throw it up. When I caught it, I was wondering why everybody wasn’t trying to tackle me. I just heard everybody cheering, so I guessed I scored. I celebrated and went to the sideline.”

Top-seeded Ruston (11-3), appearing in its second straight final, picked up a pair of first downs on its following drive when the Bearcats went into their bag of tricks on first-and-10.

Hartwell flipped the ball to wide receiver Josiah Morgan, motioning to his right, who stopped and threw to tight end Ahmad Hudson. The nation’s No. 1 tight end in the Class of 2027 and his team’s Most Outstanding Player broke across the field for a big gain with Clark on his trail.

Clark finally caught up to the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Hudson, stripped the ball away, and Dylan Johnson recovered at his own 11 with 1:21 to play.

“I don’t know where I came from, but I saw him,” said Clark, who had seven tackles. “When he caught the ball and when he made a move, he kept swinging the ball. He was yanking the ball away from his body. I knew I could catch him, but wasn’t sure what I would do when I caught him. When I caught him, I just reached for the ball, and the next thing I saw was my teammate falling on the ball.”

Lewis had witnessed such feats from Clark this season.

“Wydell’s made those effort plays, made those plays all year long,” he said. “When he stripped it and got it, everybody went crazy.”

Ouachita picked up one first down on the legs of its Outstanding Player, Macario Dade’s 23-yard gain. Ruston was able to secure one final possession, using all three of its timeouts during a stretch the Lions gained six yards, resulting in Trey Johnson’s booming 60-yard punt for a touchback.

Ruston was able to pick up two first downs and get out of bounds, advancing to Ouachita’s 35 after an 8-yard Hartwell-to-Moore completion with four seconds left.

Following an Ouachita timeout, Ramos, who kicked two field goals earlier in the game, wasn’t able to give his attempt enough ride, falling into the end zone and sending Ouachita rushing onto the field.

“There wasn’t anything to say other than to say, ‘kick it hard’,” Ruston coach Jerrod Baugh said. “He’s made those before from that distance. I didn’t blink an eye whenever we put him out there.”

This was the second meeting in nine weeks between the two District 2-5A rivals, with Ruston taking a 21-14 win.

Ouachita lost four straight district games and wound up in fifth place before it became the third highest-seeded team to win a Class 5A/Division I state title. The Lions finished the season with a six-game winning streak.

“I told them we were going to be a state champion in the second half,” Lewis said. “But to do that, you have to play 24 minutes in discomfort. Championships aren’t won in comfortable situations. When you do it against a team that I think is one of the best in the state, and coach Baugh’s one of the best in the state at closing out games.”

The tale of the tape was as close as the game.

Ouachita outgained Ruston 369-367, relying on a steady running game that produced 185 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries.

Dade had a game-high 147 yards with two touchdowns on 21 carries and was named his team’s Outstanding Player. Connor combined for 239 total yards (184 passing, 55 rushing) and a touchdown. Seneca Battle added four catches for 67 yards.

Ruston, which remained tied with three other schools with nine state titles, was led by Hartwell’s 255 total yards (184 passing, 71 rushing) and two touchdowns. 

Ouachita took its first lead of the game with 6:41 to play on Conner’s 30-yard pass to Clark.

The Lions, which had a 5.8 margin of victory to reach the final, rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit with touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters for a 21-20 edge.

OHS scored on two of three series in the third quarter and outgained Ruston, 197-167, in the second half. 

They put together a 9-play. 97-yard drive that took over four minutes off the clock. A big spark came from a 49-yard completion from Connor to Clark against man coverage, and Dade scored on the next play from three yards out at the 3:33 mark.

Ramos made it 20-17 with 46 seconds left with a 38-yard field goal, a drive the Bearcats had four plays from inside of Ouachita’s 9-yard line. Alex Smith’s sack for a 12-yard loss against Hartwell forced Ramos’ field goal.

That set the scene for Ouachita’s go-ahead drive that resulted in Clark’s TD catch from Connor. 

“I’d like to rethink it now,” Baugh said of his team’s series that didn’t produce any points. “We thought we had good play selections. There was a lot of conversation among the coaches and what we wanted to do. Those guys are really good defensively, and it’s kind of hard to pick and choose what you want to do. We go with what brought us and have a lot of confidence in these kids and ask them to do these things over and over.”

Ruston scored a touchdown in each of the first and second quarters, and Ramos’ 37-yard field goal with 1:51 left gave his team a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Bearcats, taking over at midfield, scored on their first possession of the game with eight rushing plays. Kohl Gray had the first big burst with a 28-yard gain over the right side, and Hartwell, who suffered a three-yard loss on and second-and-goal, kept on the ensuing play for a 4-yard touchdown in which he went untouched into the end zone with 5:55 left.

Ruston increased its lead to 14-0 with Hartwell finding early in the second quarter. A 30-yard pick up from Hartwell ignited the drive, and two plays later, Hartwell found Hudson, who made a defender miss and shook another, taking off on a 59-yard catch and run and a two-score lead.

Hudson wound up with six receptions for 179 yards.

Ouachita answered to get right back into the game at 14-7 at the 6:44 mark with an 8-play, 80-yard drive that was aided by a penalty.

Conner completed a third-down pass to Battle to Ruston’s 42, and his next pass toward the goal line resulted in a pass interference penalty. That moved the ball to the 27, where Dade took a handoff to the right, bounced off a pile of players, and was untouched en route to a 27-yard touchdown.

The combination of Hartwell-to-Hudson worked for a 37-yard gain on third-and-seven, and Hartwell added a 23-yard scramble to Ouachita’s 15-yard line. The Lions had two of their seven tackles for loss, and Ramos came on to make his field goal attempt.

“The second half really represented our football season this season,” said Lewis, whose team trailed 17-7 at halftime. “There was a time when most people in the state, and definitely people in our area, would have counted us out and said we were going to be a one-and-done. These guys thought differently. This group of guys are one of the most resilient I’ve ever been around.”