Story by Maurice Butler
Progressive Sports   

    There is an old adage in sports that says "it ain't over until the fat lady sings." Well for the Theodore Roosevelt and Central football teams that lady refused to strike up a tune for almost 3 1/2 hours and it took 5 overtimes before the game was decided by a field goal by wide receiver Levite Lagarde.

    The game winning field goal came by an unlikely source. "Our regular kicker [Obed Gomez] couldn't be here today because he had to work," stated an exhausted Daryl Tilghman, Roosevelt's head coach. "Levite [Lagarde] had been practicing his kicking and punting the last couple of days, but looked horrible in practice. I decided to give him a shot because we were in the 5th overtime and our guys, most who play both ways, were getting a little tired. The kick didn't look that great, but it turned out to be a thing of beauty as it sailed through the uprights."

   The game was played on a Saturday afternoon [September 12, 2009] on a thick natural grass field in Maryland, which was unusual for the Riders who normally play on Friday nights and on an artificial turf field. It took the Riders a while to adjust as Central scored the first touchdown of the game on a 33-yard pass play in the first quarter. The Riders didn't score their first touchdown until late in the 3rd quarter when running back David Coates (17 attempts, 115 yards, 2 touchdowns) scored on a 40-yard run. The Riders amassed 201 yards rushing with runners Quantrell McKissick adding 74 yards on 13 carries and fullback Leon Jordan contributing 16 yards on 6 carries. The Riders second score following a 12-play drive that ended when quarterback Imani Kelly pushed the ball into the end zone on a one-yard run in the 4th quarter. 

   Central tied the game in the 4th quarter (12 - 12) sending the game into overtime. During the overtime period in Maryland the ball is placed on the 10-yard line and each team gets four (4) downs to score and the game is not over until one team scores. Central scored on their first possession of the 1st overtime period followed by David Coates, who took the ball to the end zone on a 10-yard run for the Riders. Neither team was able to score in the following two overtime periods, but the Riders put an end to the marathon with Lagarde's game winning field goal. 

   "It was ugly, but a win is a win," Tilghman lamented.