Talk of the Town

Kyle Loughman was sitting around the campfire, loving life.

The air was getting cooler and the sun was setting earlier every night, but the Jim Morrison-quoting, poetry-writing senior quarterback at Buena High was surrounded by friends, including one he had known for years.

Loughman had played pee-wee football with him, had spent several years in the same ZIP Code with this guy. They had run into each other at theaters and hung out at parties.

Loughman had even dated this friend’s sister, Jennifer, a few years ago, going to the prom with her as a sophomore.

His friend, his longtime pal, is none other than Ventura running back Tyler Ebell, the target of the Buena defense tonight in the football game that divides the city of Ventura.

“There’s a rivalry, of course, because you want to brag to your friends,” Loughman said. “I like them, though. I’ve never lost to Ventura. It makes it a lot easier for me to get along with those guys.”

Don’t be fooled by Loughman’s good-guy approach. Marshmallows weren’t the only things being roasted that night.

“We were asking [Ebell], ‘Where’s all your 100-yard games,’ ” said Loughman, who happened to be camping during a midseason slump by Ebell, partly the result of a deep thigh bruise. “He said he’d be better by our game.”

Ah, yes. The big game, which is especially big this year because Buena and Ventura are a combined 17-1 heading into the regular-season finale that will decide the Channel League championship.

Loughman has led Buena to two consecutive league titles and was expected to complete the trifecta this season.

This was supposed to be the year Loughman made a strong pitch for a Division I college scholarship. The left-hander entered the season with 3,734 yards passing and 29 touchdown passes.

The Bulldogs (8-1, 3-0 in league play) have won eight consecutive games since a season-opening loss to Westlake. Ventura is 9-0, 3-0.

But Loughman balks at his stats this year--1,569 yards and 13 touchdowns, with nine interceptions.

He points to a two-interception game against Channel Islands and a no-touchdown performance against San Marcos. Never mind that Buena won the games by a combined score of 62-34.

Loughman, a devoted fan of poets e.e. cummings and W.B. Yeats, would probably say this season has had little rhyme and no meter.

“I’ve had a pretty bad year,” Loughman said. “There’s been a lot of opportunities I’ve missed. I’ve got to do better if I plan on going anywhere.

“I over-think things, simple reads that I’ve been making since I was 15. I kind of make up my own stuff.”

His frustration is evident because he knows his capabilities. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns in an efficient, interception-free 48-14 victory over Oxnard. But he hasn’t been compared to Penn State-bound quarterback Zac Wasserman of Westlake.

“I thought I was going to be in his hip pocket statistic-wise,” Loughman said. “I thought I was going to be right next to him.”

Wasserman, who has rarely played in the second half this season because Westlake routinely takes commanding early leads, has passed for 1,940 yards and 22 touchdowns.

But one opposing coach said Loughman ranks among the elite.

“He may be the best quarterback around,” said Coach Phil McCune of Ventura. “They could make a living just on him throwing if they wanted to, but they’ve got so many other weapons, they can be balanced if they want to.

“Maybe he thinks he’s not playing well in that he’s not throwing the ball 50 times a game. But he’s smooth. He’s got a great corps of receivers around him and he can put the ball in places where they catch it. He doesn’t make mistakes or bad decisions. He doesn’t force things.”

Loughman was thrust into the starting role two years ago when Albert De Le Rocha, the incumbent senior starter, was switched to safety.

During Buena’s run to the league title in 1997, the Bulldogs were killing time during a 14-12 victory over San Marcos when Loughman became a philosopher, quoting Jim Morrison in the huddle.

He cited a snippet of a Doors’ song that referred to lions and Roman dogs.

His teammates looked at him as if he had spoken Swahili.

“They didn’t really like it,” said Loughman, who remembers in particular the reaction of senior fullback Matt Hebert. “He said, ‘Dude, that’s so stupid.’ ”

Like he has in other facets of life, Loughman learned and adjusted.

He grew up the son of a Catholic father and Jewish mother, making the winter holidays an interesting time. A menorah and a Christmas tree are never more than a room apart.

“I celebrate both,” he said. “It’s kind of nice.”

If Buena defeats Ventura tonight, half the town will celebrate with Loughman. As long as he doesn’t quote Jim Morrison.