Football Game Preview: Ballou Knights vs. Roosevelt Roughriders + How To Watch

The Ballou Knights are taking a road trip to square off against the Roosevelt Roughriders at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Roosevelt took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Ballou, who comes in off a win.

Ballou is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of District of Columbia's top teams: Jackson-Reed, who was ranked 18th at the time (Ballou was ranked 14th). The Knights blew past the Tigers 28-7 on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Knights in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won four in a row.

Maximus Stovall

Passer Rating

09/20/25 @ Anacostia	137.5
10/30/25 vs Jackson-Reed	134.2
09/12/25 vs Phelps Architecture, Construction & Engineering	109.7
09/27/25 vs Woodson	88.3
09/05/25 vs KIPP DC Legacy College Prep	81.3
+ 2 more games

Ballou found their leader in sophomore Maximus Stovall, who threw for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Stovall's passing game has become a key predictor of the Knights' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 2-4 otherwise.

Meanwhile, Roosevelt fell victim to Coolidge and their airtight defense on Saturday. They took a 9-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Colts. Considering the last time the Roughriders couldn't score was back in September, the team can't take the result too hard.

Ballou now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Roosevelt, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.

Ballou came up short against Roosevelt in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, falling 20-14. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.