Ventura Just Lets Vann Go : Sophomore Running Back Leaves His Impression on Pirates’ Record Book

All week, Elihu Vann tried to keep the thought out of his mind.

All week, the Ventura College sophomore running back went about his business, avoiding the subject the way he sidesteps approaching tacklers.

All week he prepared to break Ventura’s career rushing record.

But when it finally happened, in a 43-29 victory at Santa Monica last Saturday, Vann wasn’t even sure of the exact moment.

“During the game, I was trying to forget about it,” Vann said. “But every time I came off to the sidelines, everyone was asking me if I broke it yet.”

Vann, 6 feet 1 and 185 pounds, knew for sure only after the game. He gained 211 yards in 35 carries with three touchdowns, increasing his two-year total to 1,790 yards rushing and surpassing Byron Brown’s record of 1,694 yards set in 1980-81.

He later learned the milestone came on a 51-yard touchdown run inside left tackle late in the first half, on a play called “Alabama formation 35.”

“It didn’t hit me until after the game,” Vann said. “My teammates gave me the game ball and they all signed it. That’s the first game ball I ever got.”

Maybe not the last.

As the numbers indicate, Vann is a gifted ballcarrier who, although not physically imposing, runs fiercely and is sure-handed. He has fumbled once, during the fourth game last season, in 341 carries in his career.

“He just won’t give up the ball,” said George Rosales, Ventura coach. “The only time he did, he took a tremendous shot.”

Vann ranks second in the Western State Conference in rushing with 670 yards, 184 fewer yards than West L.A.’s Romell Knutt, and he could pull into the lead this weekend when Ventura (3-2) plays host to Glendale (2-3) in a Northern Division opener. West L.A. has a bye.

Last year, Vann had 238 carries for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns, and was selected to the All-WSC second team.

“He’s a tough guy,” Rosales said. “He plays every snap and he always runs hard.”

Rosales, in his fourth season with the Pirates, first saw Vann in a game film from Hug High in Reno, Nev., where Vann played fullback and linebacker.

“We took a gamble on him,” Rosales said. “He gets here and we started realizing that the kid was good. It was not a rocket scientist-type of thing. The kid could play.”

Ever since, Rosales has hitched himself to the Vann wagon, making the youngster the focus on offense. And who wouldn’t? Even with Vann, the Pirates were 2-8 last year. Now that Vann is complemented by a more capable cast, Ventura’s lot is improving every week.

Since childhood, Vann has used Franco Harris and the Pittsburgh Steelers as motivation, even though Vann never saw Harris play.

“I don’t know where he got that,” said Vann’s mother, Ethel. “I guess it’s because our family were big Pittsburgh Steelers fans.”

Ethel Vann is a big fan of her son and makes the car ride from Reno to Ventura for most home games, accompanied by another son, a daughter and a grandson.

“It’s really exciting for me when they come to the games,” Vann said. “I really look forward to it.”

Vann, an architecture major, will add to his record this weekend in front of his fan club, which is planning to make the trip to Ventura. They’ll get to see perhaps the toughest pound-for-pound running back in the conference.

“I’m physical,” Vann said. “I’m not the fastest but I make good reads, and I like the contact. I’m going to hit [the tackler] first.”

While setting school records, mind you.