Franklinton and Bogalusa are battling for the Pine Burr Trophy tonight as the schools continue their rivalry tonight in Franklinton.
“It’s exciting for the communities,” Franklinton coach Shane Smith said. “You’ve got kids who are related to each other in both communities. Some of our kids might have cousins on Bogalusa. Some of our administrators went to Bogalusa. Both teams have won a state championship. There are so many ties between the two and when you add the two together, it makes for a healthy rivalry.”
Franklinton has won the last 14 matchups between the two schools, including a 60-6 victory last season.
The Demons, who moved up two spots to No. 5 in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Poll, enter tonight’s action with a 1-1 record after a 40-12 victory over Amite last week.
Smith said his team is still trying to get better a several things.
“The tackling defensively has to improve,” Smith said. “We’ve got to perform fundamentally. I think our offensive line showed improvement last week.”
Last week, the defense intercepted two passes, one each by Tremario Magee and Jamarian Crain.
Chandler Scott leads the Demons in tackles with 19, including five for a loss.
Relik Wilson is next at 17 tackles, and he has also made 1.5 sacks. Martavius James has 15 tackles, and Kobe Crain has 14 tackles, four for a loss and one sack.
Offensively, Tahj Magee has thrown for 86 yards with a touchdown to Azende T. Magee.
Tahj Magee is leading the team in rushing with 241 yards and two touchdowns. Azende T. Magee has rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown. Relik Wilson has two rushing touchdowns and Tavion Partman has one.
Bogalusa enters tonight’s game with an 0-2 record after a 20-15 loss to St. James last week. The Lumberjacks nearly made a great comeback in that contest, but came up short. Bogalusa trailed in that game 20-8 and scored with 2:13 left and then Tyrese Cotton recovered an onside kick. The Lumberjacks eventually turned the ball over on downs with 30 seconds left.
“It was a major improvement from week one to week two,” Roberts said. “We just didn’t win the game. We were in the fourth quarter with the ball and a chance to win, we just didn’t get it done.”
Bogalusa’s first touchdown was scored by Sean Forbes on a 3-yard run that was set up by quarterback Tymothy Toussaint’s 55-yard rushing play. Toussaint ran in the two-point conversion.
Toussaint scored the other touchdown on a 1-yard run that was set up by Forbes’ 41-yard run. Forbes also hit the extra point.