JOHNSTOWN – The Roosevelt Rough Riders weren’t surprised by a 31-3 home win over the Frederick Golden Eagles. If anything, RHS thought it should have won by more on Friday.
After all, the Riders (8-1, 6-0) are used to running away with ballgames. The 28-point victory is the closest contest they have seen since beating Windsor 34-7 in Week 3. They are now 8-1, and will welcome 5A Grand Junction (8-1, 5-1) to town to play for a 4A Northern League title.
“You earn where you’re at this point in time in the year,” RHS head coach Lane Wasinger said after the win. “A league championship would mean a lot to this group because it’s been a minute since we’ve won one.”
Yet, on a night when the yellow laundry couldn’t stay in the refs’ pockets, Roosevelt struggled to find momentum until the second half.
Frederick (6-3, 4-2) actually struck first, taking a 3-0 first-quarter lead on a medium-range field goal by senior Garrett Cahoon. FHS would have punted earlier in the drive, but an illegal substitution on fourth down kept the Golden Eagles on the field.
“All you want to keep kids poised because they can be fragile in different moments and when certain things are happening,” Wasinger said. “Just keeping their composure and their poise in check…Frederick was doing nothing that we weren’t ready for.”
Roosevelt appeared to respond on the next drive. Junior quarterback Mason Mallory (12-19, 106 yards, 1 TD) found RHS’s leading receiver Noah Lucero for a long touchdown. But illegal motion wiped the play off the board, and Frederick kept a 3-0 lead entering the second quarter.
Luckily for RHS’s offense, the defense didn’t waver after the opening field goal.
Junior defensive lineman Hector Pineda was disruptive all game. He had a few sacks, and the defensive front kept FHS’s rushing attack in check. But the secondary picked off three passes, led by sophomore defensive back Tyler Grim; he came up with his first of two interceptions midway through the second quarter.
