Eleanor Roosevelt's Football Team Has High Hopes for 2011 Season

Now entering his fourth season as Eleanor Roosevelt’s football coach, has only two things on his mind — winning the Class 4A South regional title and competing for a Class 4A state championship.

The Raiders have reached the Class 4A playoffs during each of Green’s three years as head coach, but have fallen short of a regional title all three seasons, and are still in search of the program’s first regional championship since 2003. Roosevelt lost in the regional semifinals in both 2008 and 2009 and .

The Raiders are 26-12 in their three-plus seasons under Green. They opened this year with a 35-6 win against Norview High School (Va.)

“Last year, we made it to the regional finals,” Green said. “This year, we want to hopefully win it, and get out of the region.”

Raiders senior quarterback Shawn Petty, who is also a standout linebacker on defense, voiced a similar goal.

Petty accounted for four touchdowns — two rushing and two passing — against Norview.

“Hopefully we can get further this season than we got last season,” Petty said. “The team’s really excited and we’ve been working hard all summer getting ready for the season.”

Including Petty, Roosevelt returns 13 of its 22 starters — seven on offense and six on defense — from last year’s team which finished 9-3.

The 6-foot-3, 230 pound Petty, a three-year starter at quarterback, has verbally committed to following high school. Green views him as Roosevelt’s primary offensive catalyst.

Along with Petty, the Raiders also bring back a ton of experience on the offensive line, returning offensive guards Wesley Edwards and Tommie Boozer as well as offensive tackles Prince Antwi and Maurice Shelton.

Joseph Ukwu, Wayne Cummings, Chris McDowney and Tyrone Temoney will also be key contributors at running back.

Temoney was the recipient of both of Petty’s touchdown passes against Norview.

“That experience is the biggest difference from what we’ve had the last few years,” Green said. “Having an experienced offensive line and an experienced quarterback I think is going to make the biggest difference for us.”

Green says it will be tough to replace linebacker/fullback Cody Acker, linebacker/center Dominique Daniels, defensive back/wide receiver Howard Wilder and linebacker Markeith Dews, but is confident Roosevelt will be able to do just that.

The Raiders, who run an attack-based 5-2 defense, limited six of their 12 opponents last year to eight points or less and yielded more than 14 points just three times all season. The offense, meanwhile, posted 34 points or more seven times, including 42 points or more five times.

In its nine wins, Roosevelt outscored its opponents by a dominant margin of 344-62.

“Last year, we were balanced,” Green said, “and I think we’ll continue to be balanced this year. I think we’ll be explosive on both sides of the ball.”

Petty agreed, noting that the Raiders’ offense is “going to be really explosive” and is “going to be hard to stop.”

Asked whether Roosevelt has the pieces to make a run at both a regional championship as well as a state championship this year, Petty quickly responded “definitely,” adding “I feel like this team could go very far.”

“We talk everyday about winning a state championship,” Petty said. “There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t talk about that. And, for me, the only thing on my mind, and one of my main life goals right now, is getting a state championship.”