By BRAD KEITH
Stephenville Empire-Tribune

Former Tarleton State running back Derrick Ross may not have made his way back to the NFL, but he's been dominant in the Arena Football League this season, including earning a recent National Guard MVP of the week honor.

Ross set franchise records with 84 rushing yards and five touchdowns to lead Philadelphia Soul past the Orlando Predators, 79-48. The five TDs are the most by any player in a game this season, according to a release from AFL Communications.

Ross, 28, became just the 10th player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards, doing so faster than any player in the league's history - 29 games - according to the release.

The former Texan posted the two best single-game rushing totals in Tarleton history, gaining 269 yards against Western New Mexico on Sept. 10, 2005 and 260 against N.M. Highlands on Aug. 26, 2004. He also had the two best rushing seasons at Tarleton - 1,560 yards in 2005 and 1,512 in 2005 when he played in just nine games. His 3,072 rushing yards are second on Tarleton's career list behind Ricky Bush, who galloped for 3,389 yards from 1979-82.

Ross joined the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2005. He spent one season with the team, then was the NFL Europe MVP for the Cologne (Germany) Centurions the next summer. He returned to the Chiefs in 2006 only to be cut in training camp.

The Huntsville native who ran for Blinn College (junior college) before joining the Texans, is in his second season with the Soul. He has also spent time with the Winnipeg Bombers and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and was the 2010 Indoor Football League rookie of the year while with the San Angelo Stampede Express.

For more information regarding the Tarleton football program, check out TarletonSports.com.