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**Check below the story for video highlights and interviews from Friday's game**
The clock struck 4 p.m. on a muggy Monday afternoon, and DuVal had yet to make the two minute trek from its locker room to Carl J. Butkus Field. Perhaps it was foreshadowing of a frustrating afternoon for the Tiger faithful, which had little to cheer for during Eleanor Roosevelt's 41-6 season-opening road romp.
And despite the lopsided score, first-year Roosevelt Head Coach Tom Green, who coached Surrattsville to the 1A South Region final last season, wasn't as content as one might think. His team had three touchdowns erased because of penalties. At one juncture during the nearly two-hour first half, the Raiders had to punt three consecutive times, all because of penalties. On the third attempt, the DuVal punt returner muffed the ball, easily setting up Roosevelt's first touchdown.
"I'll take [the victory] anyway we can get it," Green said. "We know as the season progresses, we can't make the same mistakes we made today and win football games. We'll sit and watch the tape with the guys and pinpoint the mistakes they made. We'll reiterate those things in practices and hopefully, we'll make less mistakes on Saturday."
Fourth-year starter Mike Thomas wasn't the culprit of many mistakes as the 5-foot-9, 175-pound signal caller was the catalyst for the first three Raider touchdowns. Following the special teams turnover, Thomas scampered eight yards for the game's first touchdown. He also added the two point conversion on a sneak up the middle.
Following a quick DuVal possession, Thomas faced a third-and-15 when he found Stephon Morris, a Penn State recruit, racing up the right sideline. The 65-yard first quarter touchdown strike put Roosevelt up 14-0, and reversed any momentum that the Tigers had mounted.
"We took one right on the nose," said first-year DuVal Head Coach Dameon Powell, who was the defensive coordinator last season. "We gave up a lot of big plays which hurt us. We’ve got to learn from this game and move on to put another layer on the cake to try to work our way back to get on track."
Following a 50-yard Derrick Thomas (another Peen State recruit) touchdown reception to put the Raiders up 22-0, DuVal finally had a little luck. Senior quarterback Jesse Henderson threw a post route, only to have the ball carom off two Roosevelt defenders before landing in senior running back Marcus Roundtree's hands. The 175-pound Roundtree ran freely for the 35-yard score.
"It was a tip, tip, drill," Powell said. "Our guy was fortunate to catch it and run it in."
It was the last time the Tigers mounted any offensive threat, as Roosevelt bottled Henderson and a slew of DuVal tailbacks throughout the second half. Roosevelt senior linebacker Chris Graves had a game-high 11 tackles, while Quinton Douglas had six and Isaiah Ross, who is reportedly fielding offers from Buffalo, Illinois and Maryland, tallied four tackles. Morris and A.J. Bryson, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior linebacker, also turned in four tackles apiece.
Offensively, the Raiders eliminated the mental mistakes in the second half, sticking with a spread attack to compliment downhill power running from Richard Aiyegoro and Bryson, both of who had 50 yards on six carries. Roosevelt had 239 yards on the ground, and averaged 7.5 yards per carry.
"We looked focused," said Thomas, who had a game-high 70 yards rushing and threw for anothers 137 yards and two touchdowns. "We cut down on the penalties in the second half and that was key."
The blowout win was a large step from the 17-point victory Roosevelt earned last season (the Raiders later had to forfeit). Thomas believes that's a testament to the fresh attitude that Green implemented in the off-season. As the athletic director and football coach, Green is keenly aware of his talent, but will need to reign in the penalties and missed assignments to threaten for the league title. So far Green's been pleased with the Raiders' effort.
"We have big play guys," said Green, who will be gunning for his 30th career win on Saturday against Oxon Hill. "We knew we had a lot of talent here. It was just a matter of the kids believing in what we do."
DuVal, meanwhile, is just ready to get back in the win column after making the playoffs last season for the first time this decade. The Tigers will host Laurel, who lost 20-0 to Bowie on Sept. 5, on Saturday.
"Laurel is coming into our house this year," Powell said. "We’ll definitely be up for that game because we’re going to be thirsty for a win. We’re ready. We’re definitely going to do a better job than we did this week.
E-mail: egilmore@digitalsports.com
