Roosevelt Hangs on to Beat Taylor Truman in Overtime

In an overtime thriller on homecoming night, edged out Taylor Truman, 21-20.

It was a game few players and fans will ever forget, including Roosevelt (5-0) senior co-captain and tight end Tony Parker.

After being crowned homecoming king at halftime, Parker made the biggest play of the night, grabbing a touchdown pass in overtime. The Cougars scored on their ensuing overtime possession, but the Bears won after Truman’s failed two-point conversion try.

Unfortunately, there was a sour note as the team was forced to play most of the fourth quarter without senior running back and co-captain

“Even though one of our captains went down, our team just fought through it," Parker said.

The first half of the game was a stalemate and neither team put points on the board. Wyandotte’s defense stepped up and was able to shut down the Truman run game, but the Bears’ offense struggled.

Despite a few big offensive plays by Dunn, including a 19-yard run, most first-half possessions were plagued by penalties, fumbles, bad passes or pass-protection breakdowns.

In the third quarter, the Bears offense managed a 52-yard scoring drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from sophomore Kyle Matejko at the 7-minute mark.

On Truman’s next possession, senior defensive back Edge Jelsemeno intercepted a Cougars’ pass, setting up Wyandotte at its own 33-yard line. 

“The play right before that, they ran the same thing,” Jelsemeno said. “So the next time, I just went up (and) got it.”

That possession, however, ended poorly for the Bears as Dunn fumbled the ball out of the end zone, which gave it back to Truman on a touchback.

The Cougars failed to capitalize, but got the ball back early in the fourth quarter still down only seven. A big reception set up Truman at the Wyandotte 13-yard line. As the Cougars tried to score on the next play, Dunn, as a defender, was hurt and the game stopped for about 20 minutes.

When play resumed, Truman scored at the 8:15 mark and was successful on a two-point conversion, going up 8-7.

Junior Devan Stewart, taking over kick return duties for Dunn, fumbled away the ensuing kickoff. Truman took advantage and scored from 18 yards out, going up 14-7, following a failed two-point try.

Junior quarterback Kevin Matejko took charge on the Bears’ next possession.

Matejko hit Jelsemeno with a 15-yard pass, then later found Stewart at the Cougars’ 2-yard line, setting up a Matt touchdown run on the next play and tying the game 14-14 with about four minutes left.

The Bears had a chance to go ahead with a little more than a minute left, but sophomore Jacob Simpson missed a 35-yard field goal try. 

Heading into overtime, Wyandotte had the ball first.

On the second play from scrimmage, Matejko and Parker hooked up for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Simpson nailed the extra point, putting Roosevelt up 21-14.

With one chance to answer in overtime, Truman scored a touchdown on its second play as well, slicing the deficit to one point. The Cougars opted for a two-point conversion try, but came up just a few inches short of the goal line and Wyandotte players flooded the field celebrating the 21-20 win.

“I was really proud of our players with the way they reloaded and responded in the second half,” Wyandotte head coach Ron Adams said. “It was very exciting to be a part of it.” 

Game Leaders

Matt ran for 70 yards and scored one touchdown. Dunn rushed for 61 yards and caught two passes for 26 yards.

A Look Ahead

Roosevelt plays at home again next week, taking on Woodhaven (3-2) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Warriors defeated Friday night 43-0.

In other Downriver League news, Southgate Anderson (4-1) was knocked off by Taylor Kennedy (1-4) 28-25, leaving the Bears and Allen Park (5-0) as the sole unbeaten teams in the league.