A Relative Lock as Buena Trigger : Senior Matt Ertman Appears to Be Well-Suited as the Team’s Quarterback Because His Fatherand 2 Uncles Played Same Position at the School

Matt Ertman is the quarterback at Buena High. He screams “Hut, hut!” a lot and hands the ball to George Keiaho.

Seems easy enough.

Unless, of course, you’re Matt Ertman. Then there are all sorts of interesting twists that accompany the task.

He is the fourth Ertman to play quarterback at Buena.

And his grandfather, the late Hank Ertman, was the school’s winningest football coach with 80 victories in 16 seasons.

Matt Ertman’s father and two uncles each wore jersey No. 10. So Matt wears No. 10.

Talk about deja vu.

Matt Ertman quietly has provided Buena with a balanced offensive attack that has helped propel the Bulldogs to a 6-1 start and an opportunity to win their first Channel League title since 1973. That year, Buena won one of its four league titles under Hank Ertman, the only four the school has won.

Keiaho, a sophomore, certainly has flashier numbers than Ertman. He is the school’s all-time leading rusher and has keyed the offense since he first stepped into the backfield as a 15-year-old freshman.

But Buena has called upon Ertman’s leadership this fall, and he has answered. The Bulldogs again will dial his No. 10 tonight in a game against rival Ventura at Ventura High that could decide the Channel League championship. The teams have 6-1 records and are tied for first with 4-0 marks with two league games remaining after tonight.

“One of the good things about being an ex-quarterback’s son and a coach’s son is that Matt understands things a little better than your average quarterback,” Buena Coach Rick Scott said. “You can explain some things to him that you can’t explain to a lot of quarterbacks.”

Ertman’s father Jim was the starting quarterback in 1965 and 1966 under his father Hank. In 1970 and 1971, Jim’s brother John was the starting quarterback. John’s 1,413 yards in total offense in 1971 is the school’s fifth-best single-season performance. He holds the school record for longest touchdown pass, a 99-yard connection with Mark Garner in 1971.

Another uncle, Mike, was the starting quarterback in 1983 and moved to defensive back in 1984.

As many as 15 relatives--including grandmother Eleanor, aunt Sandy, and mother Jeanie--sit in the Buena rooting section.

“We stake quite a claim up there in the stands,” Jim said.

They come to watch Matt, an honor student who has provided Buena’s ground-oriented offense with another dimension.

Keiaho, who has rushed for 1,083 yards in 166 carries, averages nearly 24 carries a game. When the defense stacks the line of scrimmage to try to stop Keiaho, Ertman drops into the pocket, from where he has completed 52 of 83 (62.7%) for 682 yards and seven touchdowns.

In a game against Oxnard on Oct. 18, the Yellowjackets stationed as many as nine players on the line of scrimmage. So Ertman, a 6-foot, 150-pound senior, answered by completing 12 of 15 for 223 yards. He tied David Patterson’s 1981 school record with four touchdown passes.

“People who have decided to load up on us to stop George have learned the hard way that we can throw the ball,” Scott said.

It has not always been that way this season. Ertman, a frustrated backup to Mike Dexter last season, struggled in his first varsity start. He completed two of five for 31 yards and threw two interceptions in a 23-16 loss to Westlake on Sept. 13.

The performance occurred on the same day as the funeral of Hank, a popular Ventura County figure who died of cancer after a lengthy illness.

“It was pretty tough,” Matt said. “We were real close, and he was at all of my games. A lot of things were in my head. Mostly, I couldn’t believe that he was gone.”

Ertman’s performances have improved markedly since. He has thrown 78 consecutive passes without an interception and if he maintains his completion percentage, he will eclipse Jason Isaacs’ school record (59% in 1989).

“He doesn’t have a big-time arm, but the ball is always there and it’s really catchable,” Scott said.

Some of Ertman’s offerings look as if they might attract buckshot in hunting season. But, more often than not, they find their target. He also is allowed the opportunity to change plays at the line of scrimmage.

“My role is to provide a balanced attack,” Matt said. “Teams probably think we’re all run. But we can do a lot of things.”

Ertman’s confidence is impressive, considering the emotional strain of his grandfather’s death. Buena’s players wear Hank’s initials, HCE, on their helmets. Matt says he always thinks of Hank during the national anthem.

“I just still haven’t gotten over the fact that he’s gone,” he said. “But I have to go on. I know that he’s not suffering any more, and that makes it a lot easier.”

A moment of silence was asked for before Buena’s first home game, Oct. 4 against Santa Barbara.

“It’s been tough on everybody,” Jim said. “During the moment of silence, we were all in tears. It really would have been nice for dad to see Matt’s year.”

Tonight, the Ertmans will attempt to focus on Ventura, which is no easy task. Not only are the Cougars a formidable foe, but Jim was an assistant football and baseball coach at Ventura in 1974 and 1975. Another assistant was current Ventura Coach Harvey Kochel; Jim’s mentor was Phil McCune, now an assistant under Kochel.

“But dad’s a true Buena fan,” Matt said. “He’s Buena all the way.”

So in the stands they’ll be, around the 50-yard line, four or five rows up. And they might as well get comfortable because Matt’s younger brother Eric plays on the freshman team and probably will join the varsity in a year or two.

He’s not a quarterback; he’s a wide receiver. But he wears No. 10.