re: Best Louisiana High School Team in History

The 1990 Bearcats featured standouts like Laird, who went on to star at Northwestern State, Class 4A (the largest classification in Louisiana at that time), Offensive MVP Roymon Malcolm (a running back who went on to play at Auburn and then Northwestern State and who died in a car crash on May 9, 2009), Class 4A Defensive MVP Rodney Young, a defensive back who went on to start at LSU and later for the NFL’s New York Giants, defensive end Bobby Williams, who went on to play at LSU, defensive back Charles Green, who played collegiately at Nebraska, offensive guard Andrew Jacobs and center Nick Nelams, who all were first-team All State selections that season.

That 1990 squad is generally thought to be Ruston’s best team ever, especially from the modern era. And that’s nothing to take lightly considering the Bearcats have won nine state titles (1925, 1941, 1947, 1951, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990 (and 2023) and have played in four other championship showdowns (1944, 1984, 1998 and 2022).