Sept. 10, 2007

By Louie Novak, NAIA Sports Information

IRVING, Texas - Although the level of competition for two former NAIA All-Americans has changed, the end result has not.  Sunday night during the NFL's opening weekend, New York Giants running back Derrick Ward and Dallas Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton continued to put up solid numbers on the field. 

In the Cowboys 45-35 victory over the Giants, Ward racked up 89 rushing yards on 13 attempts, which included a 44-yard scamper and the longest of his four-year NFL career.  In addition to his ground game, the Giants running back added 4 receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown. Crayton contributed to the Dallas victory with 3 receptions for 51 yards. The four-year NFL veteran also serves as the Cowboys kick returner and returned one kickoff for 13 yards as well as two punts for a total of 15 yards.

Four years ago Ward and Crayton were re-writing the record books for both of their respective NAIA schools.  Ward transferred to Ottawa (Kan.) for his senior year from Fresno State and became a first team All-America running back. He set NAIA single season records for rushing (2,061), touchdowns (28), and yards per carry (7.8) in leading the Braves to a 2003 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship.

Crayton earned second team All-America honors starting at quarterback while also handling kickoff returns, punt returns and logging time at wide receiver for Northwestern Oklahoma State. In 2003, he rushed for a school single-season record 1,476 yards with 13 touchdowns on 173 carries while adding 15 receptions for 331 yards and four scores. He became the first player in NAIA history to score a touchdown passing, receiving, rushing and on kickoff and punt returns in a single season. As both a sophomore and junior, Crayton earned All-America honorable mention and All-Central States Football League first team honors at receiver. In his four years at Northwestern, Crayton amassed 5,688 all-purpose yards, including 3,718 yards in total offense and 46 touchdowns.