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AHOSKIE – A former Hertford County High School all-conference football player is taking his game to the professional level.

Alvin Ward Jr. (6’-4”, 235 pounds) has signed a contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. The Tiger-Cats are based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Ward, the 25-year-old son of Alvin Sr. and Darlene Ward of Ahoskie, is a 2015 graduate of Hertford County High School where he played for coach Terrance Saxby. He registered nine sacks his senior season (2014).

He enrolled at Georgia Southern University in 2016 and was reshirted during his freshman year. After seeing limited playing time in 2017, mostly on special teams, Ward played in 12 games in 2018. He finished that season with three tackles and returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown. Most importantly, Ward excelled in the classroom, making the President’s List in the fall for a perfect 4.0 GPA and was later named to the 2018-19 Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.00-3.49 GPA.

In 2019, Ward played in 11 games, finishing with five tackles. He made the Dean’s List in the spring for making over a 3.50 GPA.

Ward transferred to Mercer University (Macon, GA) where he played two seasons (2020 and 2021). There, he played in nine total games, registering 39 total tackles.

Ward will make his professional football debut on May 27 when the Tiger-Cats open up their 2023 season at home against Toronto, the defending Grey Cup champions of the Canadian Football League.