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For much of this decade, the Eleanor Roosevelt High School football team has been a perennial playoff qualifier.

While the Raiders are headed back to the postseason again this year, having clinched the fourth and final playoff spot in the 4A South Region, the team is 6-3 after Saturday's 22-13 loss to Charles H. Flowers. The road gets no easier for Roosevelt, which will finish the regular season with a home game at 2 p.m. Saturday against Suitland (8-1).

After losing two of its last three games – including an unexpected setback against Bowie – some of the Raiders are questioning themselves.

"We just need a win to boost our self-esteem," said senior Dominic Shepard. "It's like we don't feel that we're a good team anymore, just an average team. We started to feel that way when we lost to Bowie. Everybody got down on themselves. [Saturday against Flowers] when we got behind, I could feel everybody on the bench just get down."

Raiders' senior Richard Aiyegoro said the team is in need of a reality check.

"I think we all need to get on the same page," Aiyegoro said in the locker room after Saturday's game. "As you can see, people are acting like we didn't just lose. I don't like losing. We're still a playoff team, everybody has got to stay positive and keep rolling."

Two Roosevelt turnovers led to touchdowns for Flowers. Jaguars' senior defensive tackle Andre Brooks shared two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Brooks' interception gave the Jaguars the ball on the Raiders 14-yard line in the fourth quarter and set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Raymone Wilson's 3 two plays later. That score gave Flowers a commanding 22-7 lead.

Raiders' sophomore quarterback Shawn Petty had several mistakes, but an overall solid game. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score. But the interception was costly, as was a botched option handoff early in the third quarter.

"I think we have to keep working hard," Petty said. "We have to come out and all focus on executing. We're just not executing plays right. Everybody has to do their job."

Petty connected with Raiders wide receiver Mitch Kempisty on a touchdown pass with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game. But the Raiders could not recover an onside kick, and the Jaguars kept the ball until time expired.

"Do I think there was a sense of urgency this week? Yeah I think so," said Roosevelt coach Tom Green . "I think it's a little bit of our youth. We've got some young guys in key spots and at the quarterback position. And quarterback handles the brunt of what's done in our offense. I need my kids to keep playing hard. With a young group, I think we as coaches have to do a better job of play-calling in certain situations with our guys."

E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.