Roosevelt Holds Off Bowie to Improve to 6-1

Everyone in the stadium knew where the ball was headed, and Eleanor Roosevelt High School safety Jairus Cook got there first.

Cook intercepted a pass intended for Bowie star receiver Jeremiah Hendy – a University of Maryland commitment – with 3:13 remaining to help the Raiders hold on for a 13-6 win over the Bulldogs on Saturday.

"I told my corner, Donta Williams, that I had his back," Cook said, "'because he was checking Jeremiah Hendy, and of course he's a great player. So he put a good move on him, and I told him I had his back, so I just stepped in there and just waited for the ball to come to me.

The interception was the second of the day for Cook, who now has four in the last two games. The Raiders (6-1) also recovered two fumbles Saturday, helping to offset an uncharacteristically rough performance by a Roosevelt offense that came in averaging 40 points per game.

Roosevelt turned the ball over twice and gave it away on downs two other times, including once at the Bowie five-yard line.

"Offensively, we're a lot better than that," Roosevelt coach Tom Green said. "We move down and we don't score inside the 10 when we get it on fourth down. … We've all got to do our job, and it is what it is. But I take my hat off to Bowie. They played tough."

Fortunately for Roosevelt, the Raider defense stepped up at the right times. Its second fumble recovery provided the game-winning score, as junior defensive lineman Wesley Edwards pounced on a loose ball in the Bowie end zone with 9:54 remaining.

"I was on the left side at D-tackle," Edwards said, "and I locked down on my man and got off my block, and everybody was already in the backfield. [Bowie quarterback Jordan Maslanik] was about to throw the ball, and somebody got a hand on it and made him fumble, and I was luckily right there. I had to knock one of the Bowie guys out of the way to get there, but I got there."

Roosevelt opened the scoring in the second quarter, when Cook connected with senior receiver Nigel Christian for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 9:07 to play before the half.

The Bulldogs (3-4) reached the end zone with 20 seconds remaining in the quarter on a one-yard run by senior running back James Holley. They missed the extra point, however, and the teams went into the locker room with Roosevelt leading, 7-6.

The teams exchanged turnovers late in the third quarter, and the Bowie defense stopped Roosevelt on a fourth-down attempt at the Bowie five to retake possession.

On the next play, though, the ball was jarred loose from Maslanik and rolled into the end zone, where Edwards pounced on it.

Roosevelt was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the score, taking them out of extra point range since they would have been kicking into a strong wind. The ensuing two-point conversion pass was intercepted, giving the Raiders a 13-6 lead with 9:46 remaining in the game.

Bowie coach Lionel Macklin said the play was supposed to be a toss right.

"Sometimes when you draw it up, it looks like it'll go," he said. "You think no one will expect it, and then something like that happens and you're like, 'Wow, that's the worst thing I could have expected.' But that's the breaks. If he had got it, he probably would have broke it for 35, because no one expected it… That one's on me, because I can't put the kids in a situation where a mistake like that will cost a whole six points."

The Bulldogs still had one last good shot, though. They marched 12 plays down to the Roosevelt 12-yard line, where they faced 3rd-and-nine with 3:20 remaining and one timeout. Maslanik rolled right and fired towards Hendy, but Cook cut in front to intercept the pass at the five-yard line.

They only could have won if they had scored and gone for two.

 "I think the route was probably either a curl or a comeback route," Cook said, "so I just stepped in front of him and waited for him to throw the ball."

Roosevelt ran out the clock to end the game.

"We really got tested today," Cook said, "so it showed our true heart throughout the game. We came out on top."

To keep up with local sports, visit www.twitter.com/patchsportsmd.

Roosevelt      0 7 0 6 – 13
Bowie             0 6 0 0 – 6

Second Quarter

R – Christian 22 pass from Cook (Pizarro kick), 9:07

B – Holly 1 run (kick failed), 0:20

Fourth Quarter

R – Edwards fumble recovery (pass failed), 9:54

                                                      R                B

First Downs                             11               11

Rushes-yards                         41-126     32-64

Passing                                      23              64

Comp-Att-Int                         3-4-1        7-15-2

Fumbles-Lost                          1-1            2-2

--- 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-  R: Cook 13-59, Acker 18-51, Williams 1-10, Wilder 7-9, Jones 2- (-3). B: Holley 21-43, Smith 7-23, Maslanik 3-3. TEAM 1- (-5).

PASSING-  R: Cook 3-4-23-1. B: Maslanik 7-14-64-2, Holley 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING- R: Christian 1-22, Acker 1-3, Wilder 1  - (-2). B: Hendy 4-52, Johnson 2-17, Smith 1 (-5).