Roosevelt football comes back in the second half to down Lincoln, take outright PIL lead

GOOSE HOLLOW – Down 14-0 at halftime, Roosevelt High School took its minds back to before the season even started with a summer camp held out on the coast.

Inside the Lincoln High School locker room, defensive coordinator Josh Bradford brought up the memory to remind the Roughriders about sticking together and having fun on the football field.

The message worked as the Riders (2-3, 2-0 PIL) dominated the second half and came back to win 18-14, taking over first in the PIL standings outright at 2-0 and handing the Cardinals (4-1, 2-1 PIL) their first loss of the season.

“We take a yearly trip to the coast and it was the perfect message at the perfect time,” Roosevelt head coach Ryan McCants said. “(Bradford) has a knack for that. It was just having them go back, get out of this moment and go back to the time we were having fun, being together and just enjoying football. At the end of the day, it's the brotherhood, it's the strong bonds that you build and those are the things you’re gonna remember for the rest of your lives.”

The two sides were feeling each other to open the game with the first quarter seeing no points with a fumble lost by Lincoln and Roosevelt turning it over on downs after a dropped snap on a punt.

Lincoln finally got the offense rolling early in the second by getting down to the Riders 6-yard line. A couple false start penalties pushed the Cardinals back, but it didn’t matter as QB Finn Davies faked a run to the far side and instead tossed it over to Blake Timothy wide open running toward the back corner. The PAT made it 7-0 Cardinals.

A three-and-out from Roosevelt gave it right back to Lincoln, who called timeout to look at a 4th-and-4 play from the Riders 43-yard line.

Out of the break, Davies rolled to his left and found Greyson Murff on a short pass. Murff battled through a Roosevelt defender that was all over him and made the catch, broke free from the defender and then had a blocking convoy down the sideline.

The junior raced down the sideline and into the end zone for another Lincoln score, and the PAT from Davies made it 14-0 Lincoln.

Roosevelt was able to work it down to the Lincoln 31-yard line, but with time winding down the Riders couldn’t get any further and Zan Galton came up with an interception with 12 seconds left to seal the 14-0 halftime lead.

But the halftime speech landed with the Riders, and the defense came out with the first statement in the second half to force a three-and-out.

Roosevelt responded thanks in large part to a 61-yard run from Jay Jay Buell Jr. that put the Riders on the Cardinals 1-yard line. Sophomore QB Ezra Arp fell into the end zone two plays later, but the PAT was blocked, making it 14-6 Cardinals.

Another stop by Roosevelt gave the ball back, but Lincoln’s Reed Eldridge came up with a strong interception on the sideline to end the responding drive.

However, mishandled snaps became an issue for Lincoln, and the first came a couple plays later on offense and was recovered by Buell to set up Roosevelt on the Lincoln 13-yard line.

Two plays later, Buell was into the endzone from four yards out, but the 2-point try was unsuccessful and left Roosevelt down 14-12 with 3:32 left in the third.

“We just locked in, I had to get on their heads some more,” Buell said of the defense’s turnaround. “There were a lot of miscommunications, not enough communication. That’s what happened on that first touchdown, second touchdown, stuff happens. But at the end of the day, we locked in.”

Lincoln was forced to punt once more, this time getting a good roll and putting Roosevelt on its own 19-yard line to start the drive.

But at this point, the Riders had taken over the battle in the trenches, and Buell went to work on the ground throughout the drive alongside Miles Green and Geovoney Burks.

Roosevelt went all 81 yards and finished with a 3-yard TD run from Buell to take the lead 18-14. Another 2-point try came up short, but the Riders suddenly had the lead with 7:29 to go in the game.

“That’s Jay Jay, he’s been a great player from day one,” McCants said. “He’s just somebody that’s waited patiently for his turn, I know he’s been frustrated about his lack of action. But when his number was called he stepped up and he stepped up in a big way. Couldn’t be more proud of him and the whole team in general.”

On the ensuing Lincoln drive, it ended quickly when Jarel Riley Jr. picked off Davies on a 3rd-and-long passing attempt where Davies was hit as he threw the ball.

Roosevelt started to bleed the clock inside the redzone, eventually turning it over on downs at the Cardinals 5-yard line with 2:06 to go.

Lincoln had two timeouts and a shot to go 95 yards to try and win the game, but on the first play the Cardinals got a gain of 10, but fumbled the ball on the way down and it was recovered by Buell, his second recovery of the night.

Again, Roosevelt bled the clock and turned it over on downs, but there was only 47 seconds left this time.

Lincoln got the ball across midfield to the Riders 47-yard line, but the final heave from Davies was tipped at the line and fell to the turf only 20 yards down the field.

“From last year, I had a grudge (against Lincoln) because we lost 3-0 and I kind of feel like it was on me because one play I let them get into the red zone and they got that kick,” Buell said. “I’ve always had this game on my mind. I’m glad to get the job done.”

The win moves Roosevelt to 2-3 overall, but more importantly, puts them at 2-0 in the PIL, the lone unbeaten team in the league now. For Lincoln, it falls to 4-1 and 2-1 in the PIL.

“The kids are just resilient, they know how to respond to adversity. We preach it, the coaches talk about it, but the players really embody it,” McCants said. “For the past few years, these seniors have rose to the occasion, whether we’re down big against some nonleague teams and they find a way to put points on the board. They continue to grow. It’s the kids, it’s the coaches, it's the direction of the program and it’s just been a pleasure to be a part of.”

Lincoln held the yardage advantage at the break at 120-89, but it had only 34 total yards in the second half while Roosevelt racked up 160 to finish ahead 249-154. Roosevelt also recovered three fumbles and had an interception while Lincoln grabbed two turnovers.

Buell was the leader in the stat book with 140 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while also recovering two fumbles on defense. Burks chipped in 51 rushing yards on eight carries.

For Lincoln, Zan Galton led in rushing with 33 yards and also had an interception. Murff had 73 receiving yards on three catches with one TD while also rushing for 26 yards.

The Cardinals will try to bounce back on the road next week against McDaniel with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9.

The Riders will look to keep the win streak going and keep a hold on the PIL lead when it meets up with rival Jefferson on the road at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9.

“We enjoy tonight and then put it to bed tomorrow,” McCants said. “We live in a silo, one week at a time. It’s one of those things where we can enjoy this, but it’s back to work tomorrow. We’re to exchange film, break it down, come up with a gameplan and try to continue this journey that we’re on.”