BOGALUSA, La. — It’s been a back and forth between Bogalusa High School and Albany High School about where their Friday night football matchup should happen.
“Our coaches and our kids work too hard, and it was also our senior night, so we were excited looking, forward to that,” Bogalusa High School Principal Dr. Eric Greely said.
Greely says the Louisiana High School Athletic Association required the game be moved to a neutral site after Albany High School raised concerns about safety in Bogalusa. It stems from a 15-year-old boy being shot and killed outside of the stadium Oct. 14th. Since then, Greely was able to present a safety plan and the game was put back in Bogalusa.
“I’m kind of disappointed that they still decided to forfeit the game regardless of how good the plan was,” Greely said.
Tuesday, Albany High School decided to forfeit, refusing to go to Bogalusa. Principal Sammie Lacara released this statement to Eyewitness News:
“Due to continued concerns for the safety of our fans, athletes, and staff, Albany High School decided to pursue a forfeit with our district committee.
"We appreciate the efforts of the Bogalusa High School administration, local law enforcement, as well as the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office, to create as safe an environment as possible. However, in the end, we still felt it was in the best interest of everyone involved to forfeit this particular game.”
“The kids are feeling really bad about it. They feel like that these schools, other schools, have deserted them. And they feel like it’s their senior night, and they would not have done that to anybody else,” Greely said. “So, they just don’t understand it.”
Neither does Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette.
“It puts a black eye on Bogalusa. It puts a black eye on our parish. Shame on Albany. They’re not exempt from crime,” Mayor Perrette said.
Perrette knows that black eye can also come with an economic loss for the city. She anticipated a crowed stadium to cheer on both teams, but now anticipates the community to rally around the school.
“I think people will be out and about, still going to eat, and that there will be some celebrations that take place,” said Mayor Perrette.
It’s a celebration in Lumberjack Stadium that’ll be missing under the Friday night lights though.
“We wish Albany well as they make it to the playoffs. We hope they do very well again,” Greely said. “It’s so unfortunate that this decision was made, because it hurts children, and we don’t want to make decisions that hurt children.”
Greely hopes senior night can be moved to the first home game during playoffs.