PLEASANT HILL, Calif. — For more than a week, De La Salle senior running back Terron Ward has been hearing it every day.
What happened? What’s wrong with you guys? That was embarrassing.
Ward isn't very tall but he's a big playmaker.
Photo by Dennis Lee
The after-talk from the team’s humbling 30-6 loss at Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) on Sept. 12 might crawl inside the skin of most teens. But Ward is more than equipped to take on naysayers heading into tonight’s big ESPN2 showdown with Lakeland (Fla.), No. 23 nationally in the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings.
He’s been a shrimp his whole life.
At 5-foot-7 and 190 pounds, a confident, fleet, strong, play-making shrimp to be sure.
He follows in the short but powerful footsteps of numerous squatty running back greats at De La Salle, career rushing leader Patrick Walsh (5-6), brothers Atari (5-8) and Leon Callen (5-8), Allijah Bradley (5-6), Kylan Butler (5-7) and the most famous Spartan small-fry, Maurice Jones-Drew (5-7).
All played Division I football — Walsh (San Jose State), Atari Callen (Cal/Idaho State), Leon Callen (Arizona), Bradley (Michigan) and Butler (currently Arizona) — and of course Jones-Drew (UCLA) is now considered one of the NFL’s premier all-around backs.
"All those guys got the job done," Terron said. "That’s all I want to do, too."
He’s De La Salle’s top two-way player, shown in an opening-week 14-7 win over No. 3 Serra when he rushed for 70 yards, caught and ran in second-half touchdowns and had two long returns. Last year, he rushed for 708 yards and 10 touchdowns, and with 4.43 speed in the 40 and a personal best of 10.9 seconds in the 100 meters, he's drawing Pac-10 interest.
"I never think about being the smallest player on the field," he says. "I just always try to be the best player on the field."
And for the most part, he has been.
Ward was a nationally ranked junior-age group track and field standout in the long jump and yes, even hurdles.
"I was like 4-11 and my opponents would practically laugh when they saw me. The only way I knew how to respond was to just win the race," Terron said.
He led Antioch Youth Football League teams to five straight titles. He was the MVP of De La Salle freshman and JV teams.
"When he was in youth leagues after games, kids would see him out of uniform and say, ‘You’re Terron Ward? You’re too small to be Terron Ward.’ " said Ward’s father Terrell, an assistant coach at De La Salle who played briefly in the NFL as a defensive back.
Terrell used to hear the same thing growing up around tough neighborhoods in San Francisco. He was the youngest of 11 kids and his dad owned a concrete business for 35 years.
Not much taller than Terron, Terrell starred at Wilson High before earning third-team All-American honors at San Diego State. He played for Dick Vermeil on the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl team. After his playing days, he started his own janitorial business that he's run the past 25 years.
"The only way to get anywhere in life is through hard work," Terrell said. "My dad taught that to me and I tried to teach it to my kids."
Terron’s older sister Tierra earned a track scholarship to UCLA. Terron’s older brother T.J. Ward (5-10, 201) is a strong safety for Oregon and a projected third-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft. T.J. has fought through a pair of knee surgeries.
"(T.J.) is my total inspiration," Terron said. "Whenever I feel down, I think of his determination."
Terron’s lowest moment was in New Jersey, not only because of the loss but that a severe ankle sprain against Serra contributed to just seven touches for 13 yards. He fumbled on De La Salle’s first play on a botched exchange and De La Salle managed a meager 52 yards, the career low in coach Bob Ladouceur’s illustrious 30-year career that has featured six mythical national championships and a national-record 151-game win streak.
"I was frustrated, I was really irked because I couldn’t be an impact," Terron said.
With a bye week, he is close to 100 percent and figures to impact Friday’s showdown with Lakeland, which hasn’t allowed a point in two games and is as high as No. 10 in national rankings.
The defense features standout linebackers in Purdue-bound William Lucas (6-1, 217) and Quayshawn Nealy (6-1, 211), who has received at least a dozen Division I scholarship offers, including from Nebraska, Virginia and Georgia.
The offense is led by Florida State-bound quarterback Jarred Haggins (6-2, 182), who has been compared to a young Michael Vick, and explosive junior wideout Javares McRoy (5-9, 162).
"It’s the fastest team we’ve probably ever played," Ward said. "When you look at them on film, your jaw drops. But we’re hungry. And we’re out to make amends."
Terron has always compensated for his for his lack of height with buckets of sweat and a bundle of confidence.
"He reminds me of me at that age – extremely competitive and not lacking for confidence," Terron said. "He wants to score every time he touches the ball."
Game notes:
This is a great matchup of coaches, as well. Lakeland's Bill Castle just coached in his 400th game and has 325 wins. Ladouceur is No. 2 in California history with 345 wins against just 23 losses and three ties. "We're excited for getting the chance to play De La Salle, who is probably the king of all high school football in the nation," Castle told reporters. ... Lakeland arrived in the Bay Area at approximately 2 a.m. Thursday and later in the day took a trip to Alcatraz Island. ... According to the Lakeland Ledger, former Lakeland player Freddy Harrell, who now resides in the Bay Area, will speak to the team before today's game. ... The paper reports that Haggins (shoulder, ribs), McRoy (ankle) and lineman Devonte Threatt (jaw), all of whom missed some practice the last two weeks, are 100 percent.
