"We had to get back to basics and that means running the football," exclaimed an exuberant Daryl Tilghman, who is returning to the helm as Roosevelt's head football coach after a three year absence.

Tilghman's exuberance resulted from the fact that his Rough Riders ran all over the Anacostia Indians by the score of 51-0 on Friday night August 29, 2008 in Roosevelt's newly refurbished stadium. The Rider offense amassed 285 yards rushing on 26 carries using a host of runners which included junior Quantrell McKissick (8 carries, 81 yards), senior Ronnie Speight (7 carries, 58 yards and 3 touchdowns), senior Alphonzo Duckett (4 carries, 68 yards, 1 touchdown) and junior Robin Bowles (1 carry, 39 yards, 1 touchdown).

The Riders opened the scoring floodgates with a 12-play, 74-yard drive that culminated with an 18-yard run for a touchdown by Ronnie Speight with 6 minutes and 38 seconds left in the first quarter. Speight, who rushed for two other scores, also intercepted a pass from Indian quarterback Khaliel Kinchen, returning it 60 yards for another touchdown giving the Riders a 33 point lead going into halftime. Speight's name was called often over the public address system and soon the sparse crowd's chant "Ronnie Speight" could be heard on Georgia Avenue. "It feels good to be recognized next to all of these other athletes," Speight said. "Darin Drakeford (Roosevelt's blue chip athlete who is being heavily recruit by numerous division one colleges) is a really big influence on me, because he comes out here all of the time and plays his hardest....I would like to be like that too."

One of the major surprises of the evening was the play of 5'4", 130-pound kicker Obed Gomez, a two sports star (football and soccer). Not only did Gomez get off some booming kicks but showed his toughness with some vicious hits on the kickoff team that prevented possible touchdowns. "Gomez was a real surprise," a smiling coach Tilghman said. "I knew he could kick because he has been hitting 40-yard field goals in practice regularly, but I didn't know he was that tough. He seemed to enjoy the contact and wasn't afraid to stick his head in their and hit somebody." I'm really happy that we were able to win our first game of the season," Gomez said. "I think I did my best and my teammates and I will always do the best we can."

The second half saw the Riders utilizing a more balanced attack as coach Tilghman unleashed his air attack. Senior quarterback Chris McGhee completed several passes to senior tight end Christopher Kinney and a beautiful 34-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Lorenzo Fisher. Senior receiver Darin Drakeford outfought two Indian defenders to haul in a 28-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Imani Kelly. The Rider defense persevered the shutout by sacking Kinchen four times (defensive end Larry Birdine 2 sacks) and stuffing all rushing attempts at the line of scrimmage.

Coach Tilghman was pleased with the performance of his team but knows that his team has a lot of work to do in order to reach its ultimate goal...winning a championship. "We have to work a little harder in practice and especially on our passing game," coach Tilghman stated. "We left a lot of open receivers out there and we have to get better. I left coaching because I felt a little burnt out, with being the athletic director and football coach., but coaching is like riding a bike, there are some things you don't forget. The one thing that I did not like, when I returned, was this complacent attitude the kids have. They seem to think that everything should be given to them and that attitude is going to change. I am a firm believer that you have to work hard for what you get and the lesson they learn while playing football will help them be successful in life."

By Maurice Butler |  August 31, 2008; 10:40 PM ET
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