Bogalusa’s Lumberjacks will travel to South Plaquemines tonight to face the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. in a non-district game, prior to opening District 7-3A play next week.
Bogalusa has a 1-3 record after falling to Salmen, 31-12, last Friday. The Lumberjacks are 24th in the unofficial LHSAA Class 3A power rankings.
“We made some changes on the offensive line. We’re not changing anything with the scheme. I didn’t think the scheme was bad,” Bogalusa coach David Roberts said.
Roberts feels the team has played better on the road this season and thinks it is because they are more focused. In road games so far this season, Bogalusa has a 30-0 win at Northlake Christian School and a 39-30 loss at Franklinton.
The home games have been a 51-20 loss to Chalmette and last week’s 31-12 setback. Last Friday’s game was 16-6 at halftime, but a tough start to the second half put the Lumberjacks down by three possessions early in the third quarter.
Roberts said South Plaquemines has a good team.
“They’re ranked third in the power rankings,” Roberts said. “They have some of the same problems we have, as they have kids that play both ways. They have been good for years. Back when they were winning state championships, they were blowing people out.”
One area Bogalusa needs to clean up is penalties. Last week, the Lumberjacks were penalized 16 times for 131 yards.
Offensively last week, Jay Baham threw for 128 yards and an interception. He also ran for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Roberts said that Baham played well last week, and that his only bad play was the intercepted pass.
Roberts also said the defense played well as a unit last week, but got put in some tough positions.
Salmen’s first two scoring drives began at Bogalusa’s 34 and at the 50 respectively. The drive that began at the 34 ended in a field goal. Salmen’s second touchdown was a 23-yard drive. The first touchdown in the second half was a 22-yard drive and the only long touchdown drive the defense allowed was a 76-yard drive that took 14 plays.
South Plaquemines is celebrating homecoming tonight and is 3-1 this season after defeating Cohen College Prep, 32-12, last week.
South Plaquemines is third in the unofficial LHSAA Class 2A power rankings.
“This week is homecoming, so we’re just trying to eliminate the distractions and beat Bogalusa to go 4-1,” first-year head coach Lyle Fitte said. “We’re trying to fix a lot of the little things that have been hurting us in the last few games. The biggest thing is execution for us.
“I think Bogalusa is a great team. They are well coached and they have great talent. Their record doesn’t speak for their talent when I pop on the film. We have to be physical, we have to execute and we have to limit the distractions homecoming brings, so we can be prepared for Friday.”
Fitte was a volunteer coach for a year and was an assistant last year.
He said his team is really young with lots of first-year starters. He said he feels they are exceeding expectations with a tough schedule.
The quarterback is Isaac Williams. Fitte said Williams is a very tough quarterback who is a dual threat. He said Williams is in his first year of starting and that he has grown into being a field general on offense over the last four weeks.
The running back is Dontavius Johnson, who Fitte said is a scatback. He also said that he’s looking for Johnson to play a much bigger role going further along this season.
The wide receivers are Elijah Bourgeois and Truce Williams. Fitte said Bourgeois is one of the top playmakers in the state of Louisiana. Fitte said that Williams has battled injuries this year, but had a breakout game last week and Fitte is looking forward to big things from him the rest of the year.
South Plaquemines’ top defenders include cornerback Daron Powell, tackle Xavier Powell, middle linebacker Trashaun Polius and safeties Vondrice LaFrance and Ulysses Barnes.
Fitte said Daron Powell is doing a great job of locking down some of the opponents’ best receivers, and Xavier Powell is a force in the middle. Fitte said Polius has done well this season and added that he’s the team’s powerback. He said his two safeties go both ways and that they have been exemplifying leadership and leading the team defensively.