With approximately 40 players on the Roosevelt Raiders Varsity Football Team, they started the 2025 season playing against Digital Pioneers Academy on September 5th winning with a score of 7-0, then the following Friday, on September 12th, they lost against Charles H. Flowers High School with a score of 0-26 and on September 20th, they went against Parkdale High School winning with a score of 36-0. On September 26th, they went against Northwestern High School and won in a landslide with a score of 61-0, but sadly, their winning streak was lost when they went against Suitland High School and lost 7-30.
This Friday, October 10th, they will be going against Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr, High School and hopefully they can get their winning streak back up. Lorenzo Simpson a Junior at ERHS, he is seen on the field as number 23, playing as wide receiver and cornerback for the Roosevelt Raider Varsity Team, expresses how the one school he is excited to go against is Wise because “I don’t think we have beat them at my time at Roosevelt.”
On the other hand, before one of their recent games against Northwestern High School, L. Simpson was also excited to go against them but for a different reason. He noted that he doesn’t “really think they’re tough at all,” that’s why he is more “excited about it,” since he believes “they’re an easy opponent, so like, there’s gonna be a lot of points [for us] and it’s gonna be fun.” Kyndell Simpson, number 22, playing as a wide receiver and defensive end, and a Junior at ERHS, also felt “really good” about going against Northwestern, and he predicted that they “could put up at least 60 [points on Northwestern] and… they will be easy.” Not a bad estimate since they did win with a score of 61-0.
After that game, Rojean Mills, a sophomore on the ERHS Varsity Football Team, viewed on the field as number 32 and plays an Outside Linebacker and Defensive Tackle, stated that “it was a good win, good tune-up game,” and now they “have to face tougher opponents so we gotta lock in for the rest of the week,” referring to the Wise game.
Before a game starts, it can be very nerve-racking and many things, “especially when it’s big games because you know you have to perform,” notes Mills. But some things can be done to help these nerves, like L. Simpson points out how he likes to “listen to my music and just like, focus on the game up ahead. So like, there’s no distractions in my way.” It is very important to keep calm. K. Simpson likes to keep a “calm and collective” and “I often just think of me making plays to get me in the mood.” And Mills says that he likes to make the most of every minute [before the game],” and “taking things one way at a time,” so he doesn’t overwhelm himself before the game
Both L. Simpson and K. Simpson are going through arguably the hardest year of high school, and they have practice from Monday through Saturday, usually after school from 4:30-6:00 pm. L. Simpson described it as being “really stressful,” further saying that “the work that my teachers give me is really a lot, and then having to do sports and remember all the plays is really a lot too. So, like, it gets hard at times.”
On the other hand, K. Simpson explained how, for him, “Lately it’s been very easy,” because he tries to finish it during class or during study hall. Some advice they have both given to student athletes or just students in general is to “just stay on top of everything and try to finish work in class,” said K. Simpson.
But Mills, who is still an underclassman, and going through maybe the last easier year of high school. He expresses how school is hard, “If I have a lot of work, yes, but I still have to keep my GPA up.” He feels that it’s hard sometimes because of “The practices sometimes because I am too tired to do work, but I try to balance it.”
Overall, being a student athlete can get hard at times, but it is important to practice discipline and perseverance for the time ahead. Getting a little insight on some of our ERHS Varsity Football players and their thoughts and feelings, it would mean a lot to them for people to attend the football games, not only for Varsity but JV, and support them throughout this 2025 football season. Lastly, some advice for student athletes and students overall, given by L. Simpson, is to “have good time management to get your assignments done,” to pass your classes, and be promoted into the next grade.