Roosevelt 27, East Central 20
Quick take: After sputtering for most of the second half, the Roosevelt offense came to life on its final possession to score the go-ahead touchdown with six seconds left to turn away East Central’s comeback attempt and beat the Hornets 27-20 on Friday night at Heroes Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
Highlights: After Roosevelt jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead, East Central, which returned no starters from last year’s team, fought back to tie the game with 55 seconds left. That’s when quarterback Dewayne Coleman and the Roosevelt offense went to work. Starting at the Rough Riders’ own 43, Coleman marched his team down the field before finding Jaylen Dears down the left sideline for a 31-yard catch-and-run scoring pass.
After catching the ball at the 20, the senior receiver had to hurdle an East Central defender inside the 10 before squeezing the ball inside the pylon for the winning score. Roosevelt scored first when Coleman went up the middle to score from 4 yards out. The play was set up by a pass from Coleman to Marcus Price on a thirdand-7 from the 19-yard line. On the next possession, Coleman carried the ball for three straight plays, capping the drive with a 64-yard TD run.
After a punt pinned Roosevelt on its 1-yard line, Jamari Sirmons scored on a 96-yard run down the left sideline on the second play of the drive. A botched snap on the extra point left Roosevelt with a 20-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first half.
The Hornets finally put together a decent offensive drive, with quarterback Caden Bosanko completing 4 of 6 passes to set up the Hornets at the 2-yard line. An illegal snap pushed East Central back to the 9, and a 19-yard field goal attempt
missed wide right.
Juan Hernandez finally got the Hornets on the scoreboard with a 10-yard run with 3:23 left in the third quarter. East Central’s defense held Roosevelt to a three-and-out on the next possession to give the Hornets back the ball with good field position. Reginald Stewart then got East Central back within a score with a 9-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. A 31-yard one-handed catch by Stewart highlighted the drive. Stewart came through again with a 26-yard touchdown catch from Bosenko with 55 seconds left in the game. A botched snap prevented East Central from taking the lead.
What it means:
Roosevelt gets off to a winning start before starting district play next week.
The Rough Riders broke a sevenyear playoff drought last season and are looking to compete for another playoff spot this season. East Central was looking to get some experience for their young team before heading into one of the most competitive districts in the state.
Game balls: Both teams were looking to replace some offensive firepower with Roosevelt looking to find a replacement for Rashond Owens, who’s now at Oklahoma State. Those shoes look to be filled by Sirmons and Coleman, who finished with 174 and 110 yards rushing, respectively.
East Central lost 1,000-yard rusher DeAngelo Rosemond, who’s at Tarleton State. The Hornets got most of their offensive yards behind the arm of Bosenko. The junior finished with 155 yards passing, with most of the yards going to Stewart. Bosenko also had 41 yards on the ground.
Up next: The Rough Riders begin their district season next week when they face Madison on Oct. 10 at Comalander. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Steele visits the Hornets on Friday at 7:30 p.m.