Ventura’s Defense Gets Into the Act

Yeah, right.

But if such a scenario happened, the likely culprits would be Tyler Ebell’s teammates at a Ventura High practice.

Underrated and perhaps underappreciated, members of the defense have quietly done their jobs without getting offended about the attention lavished upon the record-setting Ebell.

As a result, they get another chance to prove their worth in the Southern Section Division IV championship game tonight at 7:30 at Arroyo Grande.

Led by a 5-foot-8, 220-pound linebacker nicknamed R2-D2, the defense has carved its own identity despite the security blanket of having Ebell on offense.

The defense has held center court at times, most recently last week in a 34-21 semifinal victory over Lompoc.

Lompoc had rushed for more than 300 yards the previous week in a stunning upset of Westlake, but Ventura held the Braves to 131 yards on the ground behind inside linebacker Richard Martinez.

The fireplug-sized Martinez, who goes by the Star Wars moniker, is the perfect defensive complement to the shifty, slippery 5-9 Ebell.

Martinez, the third stellar Ventura linebacker from his family, bobs and weaves behind the defensive line before leveling a surprised running back.

“I don’t mind being smaller than the average linebacker at all,” Martinez said. “It gives me more inspiration to be better.”

Martinez’s oldest brother, Joe, was a Times’ All-Ventura County selection in 1996 and ’97 and is now at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where his season was cut short by a broken leg.

Another brother, Mark, was a Times’ all-county player in 1998 and is an assistant coach at Ventura, where he can appreciate the skills of his younger brother.

“The thing he possesses most out of all of us is pure instinct,” Mark said. “He knows where the ball’s going to be.”

Then he starts to chuckle.

“The only thing is, he’s not too tall,” he said, acknowledging that he and Joe are each five inches taller than Richard. “He got the short end of the stick, but he plays like he’s about 6-5.”

Martinez is simply happy to be playing.

He missed all but a few plays last season because of a broken leg suffered in a preseason scrimmage. He played a month later against Oxnard and recorded three tackles for losses in his only three plays. But he hobbled off the field in pain, his season over.

He has come back strong.

“This is my passion,” Martinez said. “You can’t really get this feeling from any other sport.”

Linebacker Brian Giroux has proven a worthy running mate on the inside, gaining invaluable experience when Martinez was sidelined last season and applying it with a hard-nosed attitude.

Defensive end Bryan Easterly has been a pass-rushing specialist for the Cougars and tackle Mario Ventura keeps blockers at bay so Martinez and Giroux can make tackles.

“If you don’t stop people, then Tyler never sees the ball,” Ventura Coach Phil McCune said. “I really think this has been a full-team deal. No one cares who gets credit and a great deal gets done.”

Ventura’s defensive groundwork was mapped out in the summer.

The front seven returned almost intact from last season and stuck together during the dog days of July and August, arriving at school at 5:30 a.m. four days a week to lift weights. Stragglers did 100 push-ups for every minute they were tardy. There were few late arrivals.

The hard work has produced a cohesiveness that propelled the Cougars (12-1) to their first section final since 1984.

Ventura’s only blemish, a 28-21 loss to cross-town rival Buena, still raises the blood pressure of Cougar defenders.

Buena had 238 yards rushing, including 198 and three touchdowns by Freddy Keiaho. The victory gave the Bulldogs a fourth consecutive Channel League title.

A sobbing Martinez was inconsolable after the game.

Easterly remains bitter two months later.

“We don’t like to talk about that game,” Easterly said. “We all felt bad as a team, but we’re making up for it now.”

To say the least.

Ventura is one victory away from its first division title since tying Paso Robles, 14-14, for a lower-division co-championship in 1951.

Ebell, who has set national season records with 4,218 yards rushing and 61 rushing touchdowns, gets the headlines. But the defense doesn’t mind seeing the product of its labor in the small type.

“We like reading the box scorethe next day and seeing that the other team has less than 200 yards and Tyler has more than that by himself,” Easterly said.

Easterly, who also plays tight end, doesn’t hesitate when asked which side of the ball he prefers.

“I like blocking for Tyler because it’s fun to be part of all those records,” he said, before lowering his voice. “But I like defense much better.”

Once again, the defense has stated its case.