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Raiders crush Denison, 63-21
October 12, 2007 11:53 PM

Nick Gholson
Times Record News

He ran on the outside. And scored.

He ran inside. And scored.

He caught long passes. And scored.

He caught short passes. And scored.

Eric Ward did it all for the Rider Raiders.

The junior wide receiver only touched the ball seven times on offense - just once in the second half - but he made the most out of it, accounting for 169 yards of total offense and scoring four touchdowns in Rider's 63-21 blowout of Denison Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

The win makes the No. 7 Raiders 6-1 overall and 3-0 in District 5-4A. Denison falls to 2-4 and 1-1.

All of Ward's touchdowns came after Rider already had jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first 7½ minutes of the opening quarter.

The Raiders took full advantage of Denison's problems with a stiff south wind in the first quarter.

An 18-yard punt let Rider start its first drive at the Jackets' 25, and it took just three plays for Shavodrick Beaver to connect with Chris Edmond on 20-yard touchdown pass.

Jurell Thompson then scored on a 7-yard run after taking a direct snap out of the quarterback position and following the block of Damien Washington around the left side for a 14-0 lead.

Markelle Martin's 33-yard punt return gave the Raiders the ball at 20 to start their third drive, and this time Washington ran 4 yards for the score.

Ward scored the next four Rider touchdowns.

Lining up in the backfield with Thompson again the quarterback in the shotgun, Ward took the handoff and went over from the right side for 3 tough yards and a TD on the second play of the second quarter.

The 6-2, 195-pound wide receiver got behind the Denison defense and caught a pass from Beaver, turning it into a 72-yard touchdown and a 35-7 lead with 7:29 left in the half.

His next touchdown was set up by his own 69-yard kickoff return.

After the Yellowjackets got to within 35-14, Ward caught the kickoff seven yards deep in the end zone and didn't stop until he was brought down at the Denison 31.

On the fourth play of the drive, Beaver and Ward connected on a 14-yard TD pass.

Rider went to the dressing room a halftime, leading 42-14, but a fumble deep in its own territory gave the Yellowjackets a quick and easy touchdown to open the second half.

Ward got that back in just two minutes when he went in motion and scored on a 24-yard end-around.

That was the last time he touched the ball, with 7:53 left in the third quarter. He finished with three runs for 35 yards and caught four passes for 134 yards.

Thompson (15-yard run) and Andre Inglis (5-yard run) accounted for the Raiders’ other touchdowns.

The Raiders also once again got stout defensive performances from James Chambers and John Fisher.

Sports Editor Nick Gholson can be reached by calling (940) 720-3447 or 1-800-627-1646 (ext. 447) before 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Or you can e-mail him at gholsonn(at) timesrecordnews.com.