Though there was plenty to celebrate, the Raiders also got a sense of the work ahead of them if they want to keep pace with the state’s best in the playoffs.

Tempers flared in the second quarter when an argument on the sideline resulted in the ejection of a Bowie assistant. Then a fight erupted on the field, which resulted in the game being delayed as coaches separated players and announcers called for teams to return to their benches.

Roosevelt Coach Thomas Green used the pause to lecture his team on maintaining its composure, especially heading into the postseason, when the stakes will only rise and a disqualification would be all the more devastating.

“I told them: ‘Be disciplined. We’re winning. Don’t ruin the game,’ ” Green said. “We have to make this a good last game and go into the playoffs on a high.”

In the third quarter, Roosevelt’s defense stepped up with a goal-line stand on the Bulldogs’ most credible threat to that point.

But the Raiders soon lost a critical player on the defensive line when 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior Favor Bate cramped up. Bowie scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, though Roosevelt’s lead proved too substantial to overcome.

“We all got to fly to the ball,” said senior running back Donte Howard, whose third-quarter touchdown helped earn him the MVP award of the Great American Rivalry Series. “[In the postseason], when we get to the game, we’re not thinking, ‘Oh this is going to be cake.’ Oh, no. Every Friday we come out like we got a chip on our shoulder.”

The Raiders, seeded third in the 4A South region, will face DuVal in the first round of the playoffs. It would be an uphill climb from there should they advance, as No. 6 Wise and No. 9 C.H. Flowers, the two top teams in Prince George’s County, will be the favorites to advance.

The Raiders have yet to play Flowers, but in Week 2 they hung with Wise, losing, 22-16, in one of Wise’s closest games this season. Green is hopeful for a rematch so he can see how much his team has grown since.