Senior Carter Wards carries a heavy load for the perfect D’Backs

POCATELLO — Already ahead 13-0 and with time dwindling in the second quarter, the Century Diamondbacks were looking for one more score before halftime.

On first and goal from the six-yard line, quarterback Justus Mangum put the ball in the stomach of star running back Tito Villano, drawing in the Canyon Ridge safety. Mangum, though, pulled the ball back and tossed a perfect pass into the space vacated by the safety, hitting Carter Ward on the angle route for a touchdown and 19-0 lead with four seconds left in the half.

The perfectly executed play gave the Diamondbacks (3-0) a three-score lead heading into halftime and was one that, under almost any circumstance, would have preluded Ward celebrating with his teammates on the sideline.

But Ward had to cut his “celly” short to refocus on kicking the extra point.

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On a team that minimizes the number of “iron man” players — who play on both offense and defense — Ward is a wide receiver, defensive back, placekicker, punter and kick returner.

And in those many roles, his contributions went well beyond the big touchdown catch, as Century locked down a 34-6 win over the Riverhakws to remain perfect.

Ward finished the night with five catches for 32 yards, including the one touchdown, adding a dagger interception with 4:31 remaining in the game. He missed the extra point in the closing seconds of the first half, and went 1-for-2 on PATs and 0-for-1 on field goals for the game, but he was asked to punt three times and pinned Canyon Ridge inside its own 25 all three times — inside the 15 once.

“Carter’s got a lot of responsibilities,” head coach Ryan Fleischmann said after the game. “Trying to juggle that many responsibilities on a team like this, as one individual, is difficult. He did a very good job of it tonight.”

A senior on a team that relies heavily on its junior class, Ward, a team captain, is asked to be a leader in addition to all the positional contributions he makes. He has evidently done so, with the Diamondbacks, a team that had gone winless in the last two seasons, now 3-0 and looking toward a state playoff berth.

Ward and Century will look to remain unbeaten when they travel to Idaho Falls High school to face the Tigers (0-2) at Ravsten Stadium on Friday.