Running buddies give Raiders a ‘double-1 punch’

Best friends and running buddies. That’s what Terry Pace and Ivan Traylor of the L.D. Bell football team have been since seventh grade.

And now, as seniors, the two running backs are hoping to end their careers by helping the team to its first playoff berth since 2013.

“When I came here, I was told, ‘Coach, you’ve got two good running backs to work with the next two years,’ ” Bell head coach Mike Glaze said.

As juniors, the duo combined for 841 yards (Traylor had 443, Pace had 398). This season they are well on their way to eclipsing that total as through the first three games, Traylor had 263 yards and Pace had 235.

Also, while they combined for a single touchdown in 2015 (Traylor), each has scored four this season.

But there is no competition between the two. It’s just the opposite. Each is the other’s biggest fan.

In fact, they even coordinate their play to work within the boundaries of their friendship and loyalty to each other, they said.

“When one of us gets the first touchdown, we want the other to get the second,” Pace said.

“We’ll even switch if one of us has already had a touchdown and we’re down close, getting ready to score again, to make sure the other gets to score,” Traylor added. “We just try to stay together as a team.”

While both have proved themselves to be good running backs, their styles are just different enough to complement the other. It’s not a 1-2 punch, but rather a double-1 punch, they said.

“What I’m good at, he’s just the opposite,” Pace said.

“They’re very similar in stature, and the same speedwise,” Glaze said. “But I.T. is more of a slasher, whereas Terry makes people miss. I.T. will find a crease and Terry will cut.”

Pace is 5-foot-4 and weighs 165 pounds. Traylor is 5-6 and 165.

Glaze said having two quality backs is also crucial to the style of play Bell employs.

“You’re able to keep them fresh. We run the ball about 48 times a game,” he said. “Both are also good blockers, and both understand our offense very well.”

And they know each other very well. For example, Pace was a wide receiver until his freshman year, when he listened to some advice from his best friend and moved to running back.

“I knew he’d be good at it, and he is,” Traylor said.

When they’re not playing football, the two can regularly be seen together.

“We go out and eat all the time,” Traylor said. “And we like playing sand volleyball at Bob Eden Park.”

To which Pace added, “We hang out all the time. We’re not just football buddies.”

And when Pace was involved in a car accident that forced him to miss a couple of games last season, Traylor was right there by his friend’s side.

“As soon as I heard he was in the hospital, I rushed over to check on him,” Traylor said. “When he came back to play, I was so glad to see him return — and he played very well.”

Both want to continue playing after high school, but each also admits size could play a factor on whether they stay at running back. But that’s a concern for another day. Right now they are focused on helping turn the Bell program around from back-to-back 1-9 seasons.

“People are getting behind us, and it feels great that we are a part of this,” Traylor said.

“I’m glad we’re having some success our senior season,” Pace said. “If this is our last year playing together, we want to make it a great one.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Running buddies give Raiders a ‘double-1 punch’."