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By Rob DeArmond
The Livingston Parish News

ALBANY – Albany’s District 8-3A opener against Bogalusa featured a little bit of everything, but at the end of the night, the Hornets had exactly what they were looking for — Mike Janis’ first district win as the Hornets’ coach and a 1-0 start in league play.
The Hornets never trailed and put together a second-half shutout for the second straight week in a 36-14 win over the Lumberjacks at Jessie Fletcher Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
It didn’t take long for the Hornets (4-2, 1-0) to swing the momentum in their favor, recovering an on-side kick at the Bogalusa 45 to open the game.
Rhett Wolfe busted a 21-yard run, setting up J.J. Doherty’s 19-yard touchdown run two plays later. Dae Dae Doherty ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
After a short kick set the Lumberjacks (3-3, 0-1) up at the Hornet 49, Tajdryn Forbes went 24 yards on a reverse, and Josh Taylor hit Raheem Roberts on a 15-yard pass, setting up Taylor’s 9-yard keeper for a touchdown two plays later, cutting the lead to 8-6.
From there, Albany put together a nine-play, 72-yard scoring drive, which was highlighted by a 43-yard pass from J.J. Doherty to Michael McCahill, which set the Hornets up at the Bogalusa 24.
Seven plays later, J.J. Doherty scored on a 2-yard run, putting the Hornets ahead 14-6.
Bogalusa drove to the Albany 9 on its next possession, but turned the ball over on downs when a pass to the end zone went incomplete.
The Hornets got back on the board in a big way as J.J. Doherty kept on fourth-and-1 from the Albany 34. He moved the pile forward, emerged and went untouched on a 66-yard scoring run, pushing the lead to 20-6.
The touchdown run was the second fourth-down conversion of the drive for the Hornets.
Albany caught another break when Taylor tried to run on a punt then attempted to punt the ball before being dropped at the Bogalusa 37.
J.J. Doherty hit Dae Dae Doherty on a 10-yard middle screen on fourth down to keep the drive going, and on fourth-and-5, J.J. Doherty connected with McCahill on a 17-yard TD pass, pushing the lead to 26-6.
Rhett Wolfe intercepted Taylor to stop the next Bogalusa drive, but J.J. Doherty lost a fumble at the Hornet 13, setting up Taylor’s 7-yard touchdown run and two-point run, cutting the score to 26-14 with 22 seconds to play in the first half.
Bogalusa forced an Albany punt to end the first drive of the second half, and the Lumberjacks had a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown called back on a blindside block.
Neither team threatened in a scoreless third quarter, and Bogalusa’s Keyshawn Manning intercepted J.J. Doherty early in the fourth quarter at the Bogalusa 8. Three plays later, Taylor hit Roberts on a 72-yard touchdown pass that was called back after an illegal shift.
The drive ended with a 22-yard punt and set the Hornets up at the Lumberjack 43. Two plays later, the Lumberjacks were hit with a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after J.J. Doherty hit Trey Yelverton for an 11-yard gain.
The penalties moved the ball to the Bogalusa 6 and resulted in a 23-yard field goal from Pineda, pushing the lead to 29-14.
Albany recovered another onside kick and an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Lumberjacks moved the ball to the Bogalusa 24, but the Hornets turned the ball over on downs.
Taylor went 5-for-16 for 67 yards and two interceptions and rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries, while the Hornets held the Lumberjacks to 172 yards of total offense.
The Hornets made up for it on the next play when Justin Coats picked off Taylor on the first play of the ensuing drive and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown, and Pineda’s extra point capped the scoring.