Football Game Preview: Bastrop Rams vs. Sterlington Panthers

Bastrop is 0-3 against Sterlington since October of 2022 but things could change on Thursday. The Rams will take on the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Bastrop has given up an average of 36.9 points per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

On Thursday, Bastrop was beaten by Carroll 42-6. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana football rankings (they are ranked 266th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 123rd).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sterlington). They breezed past North Webster to the tune of 50-7 on Thursday. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four games by 34 points or more this season.

Sterlington's win came from a few key players Bastrop will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was J-Rob Breen, who rushed for 46 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also threw for 16 yards and one TD. What's more, he posted two rushing touchdowns, the most he's had since back in November of 2024. Sterlington also got a significant boost from Tj Burch, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 95 yards.

Sterlington was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 371 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 187 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.

Sterlington is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.0 points over those games. As for Bastrop, their loss dropped their record down to 0-7.

Things could have been worse for Bastrop, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 37-22 loss to Sterlington in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Thankfully for the Rams, Hagen Herring (who rushed for 169 yards and 35 scores on only 13 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.