RIDERS ADVANCE TO SUBSTATE FINAL

The Roosevelt Roughriders continued their march to State with a thrilling upset on the road at Waukee HS Wednesday night urged on by a huge , and energetic traveling fan contingent. The first half proceeded according to plan as the Riders were in full control of the tempo and rhythm of play. Their territorial domination , however , did not manifest itself in great scoring opportunities and the teams were deadlocked at zeroes at the intermission. A rejuvenated squad picked up where it left off at the resumption of play , surging relentlessly forward time and again. Their endeavor was rewarded in the 45th minute when junior, Baraka Ellie, slipped a clever pass to senior , Eddy Fernandes who toe-poked home the winner.

The Warriors responded with enormous energy and continued to barrage the Rider end of the field to the final whistle . Edwin Garcia who stood tall in goal and picked up the shutout was credited with one save in the dying minutes, but led through his vocal presence and calm distribution from both hands and feet , several times launching titanic punts in to Warrior territory.

The story of the night was ultimately the steadfast resistance of the backline ; Nick Schnack , Jack Heston , Bei Tha , and Cristian Tavera . Whenever Waukee pressed , the Rider defensive line maintained their composure and remained impenetrable frustrating their young opponents with their strength and intelligence.

Their second playoff victory moves the squad to 14-4 on the season , not having lost in regulation since April 6th when they lost 3-0 to this very same Waukee Warriors. The big win earned the boys a trip north to Johnston to take on the Dragons , Saturday at noon at JHS . The winner of that Sweet 16 match-up will move on to Cownie for the Iowa state championships .