Albert Thornton carries the ball in a previous game. He scored one touchdown on Friday night.

Albert Thornton carries the ball in a previous game. He scored one touchdown on Friday night.

<p>Devin Gardner, who had two touchdowns on Friday, carries the ball around the corner.</p>

Devin Gardner, who had two touchdowns on Friday, carries the ball around the corner.

<p>Ethan Spell, who went 6-for-6 in PATs on Friday night, lines up for a kick in a previous game.</p>

Ethan Spell, who went 6-for-6 in PATs on Friday night, lines up for a kick in a previous game.

With their season quickly winding down, the Harrells Christian Academy football team hit the road to Ravenscroft this past Friday night with their 4-0 record at stake. Their undefeated mark was never really in jeopardy, though, as the Crusaders stormed past the Ravens, taking the wind right out of their wings with a 44-7 victory.

With the exception of one game at the very beginning of the season, Harrells newcomer Devin Gardner has plowed the way forward for he and his Crusaders. This time around, though, fellow teammate Isaac Underwood decided to get his name in on the action and the two put forth some pretty solid efforts in lead Harrells to the blowout win.

Underwood got things going for the Crusaders when he capped off a drive with a 15-yard touchdown run. Ethan Spell tacked on the extra points, and Harrells took the early 7-0 lead.

That score was all that really stood out in the first quarter as things were slow-going early on.

In the second quarter, the Ravens answered and tied things up when Jack Shimer scampered in from four yards out for the score. Dean Swift added the PAT and things were tied 7-7 in the second quarter.

That was all she wrote for Ravenscroft, however, as the Crusaders took full control and stormed away.

Prior to halftime, Harrells added two more touchdowns to reopen the lead. These were both scored by Gardner, who scored from four and six yards out on the ground. Spell converted the PATs on both scores, and halftime, the Crusaders led 21-7.

Out of the break, the Crusaders picked up a defensive score when Ravenscroft fumbled the ball deep in their own territory and Harrells’ Grice Bell recovered the loose ball in the end zone. Another successful PAT was up and good and the Crusaders led 28-7.

Later, Harrells forced another defensive score by way of a safety, earning them two more points on a pair of big defensive achievements as the score now hit 30-7.

Still in the third quarter, the Crusaders struck again, this time on the feet of Underwood, who carried the rock for the final 14 yards for a touchdown to push the tally to 37-7.

With the Ravens offense sputtering, Harrells just kept coming. Albert Thornton got himself into the scoring column late in the game. Thornton took the ball on a running play and scampered 19 yards for the final score of the game. Spell finished perfect on the night for PATs, making it 44-7 to round out the scoring.

Underwood had the best night for the Crusaders, going 137 yards on six carries and netting two touchdowns. Gardner was right behind with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and Thornton finished with 77 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Xavier Arrington also had 51 yards. Underwood also added 11 reception yards in completing Spell’s 1-for-3 passing on the night. On the defensive side of the ball, Trent Jackson had seven tackles and an interception.

With the win, Harrells is now 5-0 on the season with just games remaining. They’ll host Wake Christian Academy this Friday.

Reach Sports Editor Daron Barefoot at [email protected].