Louisiana high school football team forfeits last game to avoid getting shot

BOGALUSA, La. — Albany High School forfeited their final football game of the season against Bogalusa High School after the LHSAA decided not to move the game to a neutral site.

Albany High School officials tried to have the Nov. 4 matchup moved to a neutral site over safety concerns after a 15-year-old boy was killed in a shooting outside Bogalusa High School's football stadium during the school’s Homecoming game on Oct. 14.

"I’m feeling terrible because our coaches and our kids work too hard," Bogalusa High Principal Dr. Eric Greely said. "It was also our senior night, so we were excited looking forward to that."

The game was originally moved to a neutral site by the LHSAA after a 3-2 vote on Oct. 27. However, the LHSAA reversed that decision on Monday after Bogalusa High officials created a safety plan that involved multiple police departments.

In response, Albany chose to forfeit the game rather than play in Bogalusa.

"The kids are feeling really bad about it," Greely said. "They feel like these schools, other schools, have deserted them. They really do. You should have them talk about it. And they feel like it’s their senior night, and they would not have done that to anybody else. So, they just don’t understand it."

Albany High School Principal Sammie Lacara released a statement on the school's decision to forfeit the game.

"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," Lacara said. "However, in the end, we still felt it was in the best interest of everyone involved to forfeit this particular game."