Rams roll over Chiefs

Bastrop jumped out to an early 24-0 lead and scored a key touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half on its way to a 44-6 victory over West Ouachita Friday night at Red Sims Stadium.

All in all, it was a good night for the Rams (7-1, 3-0), who left Cadeville with a victory, no major injuries and, get this: four penalties for 25 yards.

“I was happy we cut down on penalties,” said Bastrop head coach Brad Bradshaw.
Bastrop also clinched a share of the District 2-4A title with its 17th straight conference triumph. Seeking to clinch their fourth consecutive outright district championship, the Rams close out the regular season at home against Carroll on Thursday night.

Against West Ouachita, the Rams needed just four plays to get on the board.

Taking over at their own 38 following a Chiefs’ punt, Rueben Randle went right to work, hitting Jevante Watson for 20 yards on the first play from scrimmage.

Three plays later, on third-and-11 from the 43, Randle found Stanley Moore across the middle at the 17. Turning around after making the catch, Moore saw nothing but open real estate.

It was the beginning of a big night for both Randle and Stanley Moore.

Randle finished the evening 16-of-24 for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Stanley Moore was on the receiving end of half of Randle’s completions with eight catches for a whopping 187 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“Rueben threw the ball well tonight,” Stanley Moore said. “He told me when he started scrambling that he was going to throw it over the middle, so that was where I went.
“We wanted to get off to a good start offensively. They run the ball a lot, so they’re not really a come-from-behind team.”

Dwight Hawkins ran the 2-point conversion and the Rams were up 8-0 at 8:10 in the first period.

Bastrop doubled its lead with a defensive touchdown less than a minute later.
Scooping up a fumbled exchange, Tai (Speedy) Alford sprinted 19 yards to paydirt. Randle ran the conversion, putting the Rams up 16-0.

Besides turning the touchdown into a turnover, Alford posted a team-high 10 tackles. Coach Bradshaw was reluctant to play Alford and end D’Andre (Buck) Bradshaw. Both have been hampered by ankle injuries. But with All-State tackle Josh Downs sitting out with an injury and cornerback Keldrick Anderson missing his second game of the season, the defense was already short-handed.

“I didn’t want to play (Alford and D’Andre Bradshaw), but I couldn’t give up the district championship trying to sit them,” coach Bradshaw said. “I hated to take that chance, but we couldn’t stop them any other way.

“We had to move Speedy inside just to stop them. With Josh out, and West Ouachita in that unbalanced set, we had to get somebody in there that was able to control it.”

Bastrop’s defenders had plenty of opportunities to make tackles as the Chiefs played keep away for much of the first half.

West Ouachita rushed for 255 yards and actually held a 19-17 edge in first downs.

“They would find where D.D. (Jones) was and check to the other side,” coach Bradshaw said. “I talked to them at halftime and got D.D. and Speedy on the same side. Even though we were a man down on that side, we had our best two players on one side.”

Returning to the lineup after missing the Neville game due to illness, right end Charleston Williams was in on nine tackles, including two for negative yardage. Backup lineman Deterrius Fraction logged a career-high eight tackles and Jones notched eight tackles with a pair of stops in the backfield.

West Ouachita (5-3, 2-1) moved into Bastrop territory on its third possession.

Methodically marching the ball downfield behind the legs of quarterback Matt Calhoun, the Chiefs picked up a first down at the Bastrop 31 before the Rams stiffened.

On third-and-six from the 27, Dontavious (Big Moe) Moore stopped a running play for a gain of one, bringing up fourth-and-five. From there, Dontavious Moore and Jones stacked up another running play for no gain, giving the Rams possession at the 26.

Bastrop then covered 75 yards on seven plays, with Randle following Trevor Rodgers and Willie Graham into the endzone from 12 yards out on the first play of the second quarter.

Moore caught passes of 16 and 32 yards to set up the score.

Randle passed to Darren Anderson on the 2-point conversion, upping the Rams’ lead to 24-0.

Ray Moss returned the ensuing kickoff 29 yards to the 33, leading to a five-play, 67-yard scoring drive.

Calhoun kept twice on the option for 39 yards as the Chiefs moved to the Bastrop 24.

From there, Calhoun connected with tight end Sagen Ezell on passes of 24 and 4 yards to get the Chiefs on the board.

The extra point richocheted off the uprights, but the Chiefs had reduced the deficit to 24-6 with 10:01 remaining in the half.

Bastrop fumbled on its next offensive play, enabling the Chiefs’ offense to take control at the 43 on the plus side of the field.

On fourth-and-nine, Calhoun found Moss for 12 yards and a first down at the 30.

Williams then made a stop in the backfield for a loss of four on first down. Three plays later, on fourth-and-five, Jones shut down a running play for no gain to force a change of possession.

After an exchange of punts, the Rams took over at their own 10 with just 1:10 before halftime.

Hunter Freeland’s 34-yard reception on first play of the series gave the Rams some space at their own 44.

Three straight incomplete passes brought up fourth-and-10.

Bastrop then lined up in punt formation, but it was only a Halloween ruse. Taking the direct snap as an upback, RaDarius Winston broke three tackles en route to a 14-yard burst to move the chains.

“I thought (the fake punt) was a good emotional lift for us,” coach Bradshaw said. “That was a great play on WInston’s part.”

Randle then zipped a 24-yard strike to Stanley Moore, giving the Rams a first down at the 18 with just 18 ticks before intermission.

Three plays later, Randle fired a laser to Jevante Watson in the left corner of the endzone with just 5.8 seconds on the clock.

The try for 2 failed, but the Rams had opened up a 30-6 halftime bulge.

“Rueben threw the ball tight tonight and made some good decisions. I was real pleased with his play tonight. I thought he showed a lot of poise on the two-minute drill,” coach Bradshaw said. “I thought (the touchdown before the half) kind of ended the game right there.”

Added Stanley Moore: “We just started really working on our two-minute drill in practice this week. Scoring like we did right before halftime gave us a big lift.”

Continuing its momentum, the Rams scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half to put the game on ice.

Receiving the second half kickoff, the Rams covered 62 yards on just four plays, culminating with Randle’s 48-yard pass to Stanley Moore.

Watson’s conversion made it 38-6 just 1:41 into the second half.

West Ouachita went four and out on its first series of the second half, with D’Andre Bradshaw stopping a fake punt for a loss of six at the West Ouachita 29.

Randle and Stanley Moore connected for the final time on a 21-yard hookup, with an additional three yards tacked on for a facemask penalty. Crossett transfer Jermario (Bull) Tate, making his debut with the Rams, punched it in from the 3 to wrap up the scoring.

Bastrop’s reserves played out the remainder of the contest.

Sophomore defensive back Kennedy Jones made a big play late in the game, forcing and recovering a West Ouachita fumble.

Notes: Bastrop won its 22nd consecutive road game. ... The four penalties for 25 yards was by far a season low. ... Tate fumbled on his first carry as a Ram, but atoned by finishing with four carries for 28 yards.