Season Wrap-up: Roosevelt Football Team Excels but Falls in Regional Final

The rebuilding of football program continued this season, and although the Raiders didn't reach their ultimate goal of a state title, coach Tom Green is confident that the progress will continue next year.

"We have a lot of kids [coming] back," Green said. "Next year's seniors will be the group that came in with me my first year. Next year will be my fourth year, so the kids will have only been coached by me, which I think will make a difference. The past two years we've made it to the playoffs, and this year we made it to the regional finals. I'm just hoping that we can get over the hump and get out of the region next year."

Roosevelt finished 9-3 after a in the 4A South championship game last Saturday. They lost in the first round the previous two years, so making it to the regional title game was a logical progression.

"I take my hat off," Green said. "This group has really done an outstanding job for me and they really worked hard. We didn't end the way we wanted to, but I'm really pleased with the effort that the seniors gave this year."

The Raiders opened the season on a roll, beating Bladensburg, Laurel and High Point by a combined score of 140-0. The season's first setback came in Week 4, when the Raiders fell short in a last-minute comeback attempt at Wise. They quickly bounced back with a four-game winning streak though, hammering DuVal 47-7 and Oxon Hill 48-13, gutting out a 13-6 win at Bowie and dominating Parkdale 42-8.

The streak ended with a 27-26 loss at C.H. Flowers, but Roosevelt responded the following week with a surprisingly easy 34-14 win over previously-unbeaten Suitland in the regular-season finale.

The Raiders travelled back to Suitland for their playoff opener and earned a thrilling 20-14 victory before seeing their campaign end last week.

Junior quarterback Shawn Petty will return next year to lead an offense that averaged 33 points per game, but he'll be throwing and handing off to a slew of newcomers. The Raiders will graduate nearly all of their skill players. Junior receiver Tyrone Temoney will be the only player coming back who saw significant time this season. They will however, bring back most of their offensive and defensive lines.

Petty missed four games after breaking his collarbone against DuVal, but showed little rust in his return.

"[Petty's experience] makes a difference in what you can put in and what you can run and having a coach on the field," Green said. "So, having him back next year as a third-year starter will take a lot of pressure off of me as a coach as far as what I can put in and what I can run, especially early in the year. So, I'm really looking forward to his development as a player."

The Raiders will lose their main ball carriers in Cody Acker, Rahn Fisher and Howard Wilder, along with Donte Williams and the versatile Nigel Christian. There is talent waiting in the wings, though.

"We have a kid, Joe Ukwu, that was a backup fullback," Green said. "We have an exceptional JV running back named Wayne Cummings, and we're also going to move Tyrone Temoney from wide receiver to slot to try to get the ball in his hands a little bit more."

So, even though the Raiders will look a little different next season, Green said there's no reason to believe that they won't make another good run.

"We know Petty's going to have to play a lot of defense next year – which he did early this year," he said. " We also have a lot of our special teams guys that are going to have to step into big shoes at linebacker for [Markeith Dews] and Acker and defensive back for Howard Wilder, Christian and Williams. So, we know we've got big shoes to fill, but we're up to the task. We're always going to work hard, so when it gets down to it, we'll be in the thick of things again next year."

To keep up with local sports, visit www.twitter.com/patchsportsmd.