Roosevelt High School rebounded from last week’s close loss to View Park Prep with a 29-16 defeat of Citrus Valley Friday.

The win bumped Roosevelt to 1-1 in the Los Angeles division of the Southern California Varsity Red.

Roosevelt got some nice work from the halfback combination of Bryce Hardy and Steven Lyons, with Lyons enjoying a good day kicking for goal. Alejandro Marin has been a force at prop, while Hector Marin has shown some serious potential at center. Michael MacDonald was the top tackler for the Roosevelt football team, and has taken that defensive aggression to the flanker position on the rugby team. Meanwhile, watch out for No. 8 Michael Kersee - and if you recognize that last name, you should; his great aunt and uncle are Olympic track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee and former USA track coach Bob Kersee. The younger Kersee has been outstanding at the base of the scrum, giving Roosevelt solid players all down the middle - including his younger brother Dennis, who has been playing at center.

For program director Pete McGowan, it’s been a good start. Like several of his players, McGowan himself is a football crossover. He is a football coach as well and says he is still learning the game of rugby. But with a solid coaching staff and McGowan’s understanding of preparation, plus the fact that his role on the Roosevelt HS football staff allows him to expose athletes to rugby, Roosevelt is improving quickly.

“I know rugby makes my guys better at football,” said McGowan, who was the varsity running back coach, but is now the freshmen team’s offensive coordinator. “Our top five football players this past fall all played rugby last spring.”