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The Rice Raiders picked up their second win of the season after they defeated Hempstead in a blowout 48-9 victory on Friday, Sept. 4, at Rice Veterans’ Memorial Stadium in Altair, TX.
The Raiders played a great game in all three phases to capture the win and improved their record to 2-0 to start the 2026 season.
The Raiders opened the scoring with Ta’Rell Tarver returning a punt 30-yards for a touchdown. Kor’Dae Johnson then found Duran Amos on the two-point conversion to pu the Raiders up 8-0.
Shortly after Tarver found the end zone again and put the Raiders up 150. Then Chace Diggs ripped off a 42-yard run to put the Raiders up 21-0.
The Raiders jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and after a field goal from Hempstead, the Raiders quickly extended their lead to 283. The Raiders then added one more touchdown to bring the score to 35-3, and they carried that lead halftime.
In the second half, the Raiders continued to score as Ta’Rell Tarver found the endzone to make the score 42-3. Gabe Barrios punched in the final Raider touchdown to extend the lead to 48-3.
Hempstead scored a touchdown in the final moments of the game to arrive at the final score of 48-9.
The Raiders’ passing attack was led by quarterback Kor’Dae Johnson, who finished the night completing eight of his 12 pass attempts for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Sims and Duran Amos each caught a touchdown pass from Johnson during Friday’s victory.
On the ground, the Raiders were led by Tarver who racked up 72 yards on six carries and found the end zone twice. Chace Diggs and Gabe Barrios also contributed to the strong rushing game as they both scored one touchdown each.
On the defensive side of the ball, Barrios led the Raiders with 11 tackles and five tackles for loss. Also leading the Raiders with 11 tackles was Kedarian Pratt to help lift the Raiders to a win Friday night.
Then Nelson Bernal forced and recovered a fumble during Friday’s win over Hempstead.
The Raiders now look ahead to their week three game which will be on the road against Schulenburg on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Schulenburg High School.
