Down 14 early in the fourth quarter, Bogalusa’s Lumberjacks rallied with 19 unanswered points on the way to a 33-28 homecoming victory over Independence on Friday night. It was also the first district win for the Lumberjacks, who improved to 2-4 overall and 1-0 in District 7-3A.

Bogalusa quarterback Tymothy Toussaint completed a 23-yard pass to Sean Forbes with 51 seconds left for the game-winning touchdown. Although the extra point was no good, the Lumberjacks still led by five. The winning play came on a fourth-and-6 conversion.

Independence (3-3, 0-1) received the following kickoff, but could only advance the ball to its own 44-yard line before running out of time.

“We were really flat all game until the very end,” Bogalusa coach David Roberts said. “Independence did a good job of running the ball early and we couldn’t stop it, but we made enough plays at the end to win.”

Toussaint finished with four passing touchdowns, including two to Forbes. He also ran for a touchdown in the win.

“I had a lot of confidence in my teammates to make a play,” said Toussaint, describing the fourth-down conversion for the winning score. “We practiced all summer to get our timing and routes down, and I knew Sean would go up high to get the ball.”

Neither team punted the ball in the first half, which resulted in a 14-14 score at halftime. Independence’s Marquell Jackson scored on a 1-yard run with 4:01 left in the first quarter to make it 7-0, but Bogalusa answered right back on its first offensive drive.

On the first play of the second quarter, Toussaint completed a short pass to Forbes, who made a quick cut to the left before sprinting to the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown reception. Forbes added the extra point to tie the game with 11:50 left in the second.

On the Tigers’ next drive, Bogalusa forced a fumble and recovered on the Independence 41. Ten plays later, Toussaint completed an 11-yard touchdown reception to Caleb Greely with 3:00 remaining in the first half, and Forbes added the extra point.

Independence tied the game before halftime, when Jackson completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Darrien Morgan with 7 seconds remaining.

“We were kind of dead at the end of the first half,” Toussaint said. “We really wanted to be sure we finished the game.”

In the second half, Independence scored on its first two possessions and forced Bogalusa to punt on its first two drives, allowing the Tigers to build a 28-14 lead. Shabazz Holden ran for a 7-yard touchdown with 5:26 left in the third quarter, and Holden added a 2-yard touchdown run with 10:53 left in the fourth.

That’s when the Lumberjacks went to work. Toussaint ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 8:57 left, cutting Independence’s lead to 28-21.

Bogalusa then forced the Tigers to go three-and-out, getting the ball back at the Lumberjacks’ 47-yard line. Three plays later, Toussaint completed a 46-yard touchdown reception to Kenyatta Scott. Scott caught the ball in traffic but broke several tackles, and then made a spin move to avoid another tackle before pulling away.
The Lumberjacks missed the extra point, and still trailed 28-27 with 5:10 left. But again, the defense held Independence to a three-and-out, getting the ball back to set up the game-winning drive.

“We definitely like being 1-0 in district,” Roberts said. “We had some penalties and we have to be more disciplined, but it’s a win and we’ll take it.”