Franklinton and Bogalusa were tied at 14-14, but interceptions by Hayden Cotton and Grant Thomas, followed by touchdown runs by Mike Martin, sent the Demons to a 28-14 victory for the Pine Burr Trophy on Friday night at BHS.
It was Franklinton’s 18th-straight win over Bogalusa.
The Lumberjacks had the ball at their 19, facing third-and-11, but Cotton came up with a pick along the right sideline and took it down to the Bogalusa 17 with 5:53 left.
Martin got the call on the first play from scrimmage and ran 17 yards to pay dirt.
Franklinton recovered an onside kick, but Bogalusa forced a fumble on the initial play from scrimmage that Jakyris McLemore recovered at Bogalusa’s 11. But on second down, Thomas intercepted a pass at the 15.
Martin ran the next two plays — the first one for 10 yards and then the second play for a 5-yard scoring run with 3:40 left. Keaton Catrett, who was perfect in his four extra point attempts, was successful in those two for the 28-14 final.
Franklinton coach Jonathan Barber said Thomas played really well and talked about the picks that led to scores.
“(Thomas is) a big part for us defensively. He makes the calls and gets everything aligned. He had a big game for us and I was proud of him,” Barber said. “When we were tied at 14-14, we looked to two senior leaders. Hayden Cotton had a big pick and then after Mike fumbled, Grant Thomas comes back with another interception to seal the deal and put us up by two scores.”
Martin ran for 91 yards and three touchdowns, with his other one coming from 6 yards out. He also caught two passes for 31 yards.
“Mike (Martin) runs like an animal,” Barber said. “He runs with great determination and he finishes runs on almost every play. We work on that in practice and the physical mentality he runs with sets the tone for our entire offense.”
The game was delayed 75 minutes by lightning, but the 8:15 p.m. start did not seem to affect either team, as the game was action-packed throughout.
“I don’t think the delay had much effect,” Bogalusa coach Adam Brumfield said. “I thought our kids came out to play and theirs did too. Both sides were excited about the game, but obviously player safety is the most important thing.”
Franklinton had experienced lightning delays in its scrimmage against Slidell in August.
“The lightning delay, it’s obviously frustrating for our kids and for everybody,” Barber said. “Fortunately, we had experience with that since it happened in the scrimmage. We went in the gym and then we went back to our pregame routine. I thought we came out flying high and they were too. I don’t think it had an impact on the game.”
Franklinton won the toss and elected to defer. Bogalusa moved the ball to the Demons’ 39, but Terion Partman made Franklinton’s first of five interceptions on fourth-and-16.
Franklinton then drove 82 yards and scored when Kian Conerly took a handoff, ran right and down the sideline to the end zone for the touchdown. Catrett’s extra point was good and the Demons were up 7-0 with 6:54 left in the first quarter.
Bogalusa’s defense came up big on two straight possessions. Avant Monnie picked off a pass at midfield. Franklinton drove to the 10, but the Lumberjacks forced a turnover on downs.
Bogalusa took over, but fumbled on the first play and Noah Breland recovered for Franklinton at the 10, but again, the Lumberjacks forced a turnover on downs with this one coming at the 5.
“I think our defense and our defensive coaches did a phenomenal job Friday night,” Brumfield said. “When the offense turns over the ball as many times we did, it puts the defense in difficult situations, but they responded, kept us in the game and gave us an opportunity to win.”
Bogalusa nearly pulled closer and had a chance to either tie or take the lead on the next possession.
On third-and-1 from its 14, Josh Taylor faked like he was going to run and then threw to Tyrese Rousell. Rousell ran the rest of the way for an 86-yard touchdown, but during the play, Bogalusa was flagged for its second sideline infraction.
When asked about the sideline issue, Brumfield said, “It changed the dynamics of the game, but on both calls, neither of our coaches were on the field. We made the coaching box four feet instead of three feet in order to have plenty of room. The official had plenty of room to go around both of us, but he chose not to, he chose to throw the flag. Besides that call, I thought the officials did a pretty good job Friday night.”
Bogalusa had possession at its 15 following the penalty, but turned it over on downs at Franklinton’s 15.
The contest stayed 7-0 at halftime.
Franklinton extended the lead to 14-0 after taking the second-half kickoff 65 yards, and scored when Martin tallied on a 6-yard run. Catrett’s successful extra point made it 14-0 with 9:17 to go in the third quarter.
Bogalusa came back with 14 unanswered points and tied the game.
The teams exchanged punts and then Bogalusa got on the board with 3:58 left in the third quarter, when Taylor ran in from the 5 for his first of two touchdowns. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, but the touchdown pulled Bogalusa to within eight.
Bogalusa tied the game when Taylor scored from the 1, capping off a 70-yard drive. Roussell ran in for two and the contest was even at 14-14 with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter.
After a Franklinton punt, Cotton picked off a pass and Martin scored on the first play after. The Demons recovered an onside kick, but Bogalusa got the ball back on a fumble. Thomas intercepted a pass and Martin scored two plays later.
Monnie intercepted a pass with 1:54 left and the Demons ran out the clock in the win.
“Our kids did a good job of responding to adversity,” Barber said. “Coach Brumfield did a good job of having his kids ready to play. In the fourth quarter, when they tied the game, I challenged our kids to respond to the adversity and they did a good job. After they tied the game, we had two touchdowns and three turnovers and I was proud of their effort and the way they responded in that moment.”
Franklinton’s Jasper LaSalle threw for 164 yards. LaSalle and Conerly ran for 51 yards each on six carries. Conerly had a touchdown. Conerly caught two passes for 48 yards.
Shayland Allen posted three receptions for 43 yards. Duke Bell made three catches for 28 yards and Quaran Warren had a catch for 14 yards.
Bogalusa’s Taylor threw for 122 yards and he ran for 60 yards on 20 carries and two scores.
Rousell had a 47-yard catch and he ran for 79 yards on seven attempts.
Chas Smith posted three catches for 43 yards and 34 rushing yards on eight carries.
McLemore caught two passes for 32 yards.
Keltron Harry led the defense with 12 tackles and a sack.
Dre’Toris Mark posted 11 stops.
Charles Taylor had eight tackles while Jyren Roberts and Devonta Jackson had seven each.
“I thought we had a good week of practice,” Brumfield said. “We had our kids prepared and they played well. We just had too many turnovers and I thought some fatigue set in down the stretch.”
Both teams are 1-2 this season.
Franklinton will be home to face Tylertown, Miss., while Bogalusa heads to Salmen. Both games are Friday at 7 p.m.