Ebell Finishes Big to Lead Ventura to Division IV Title

He had the scholarship to UCLA. And the national records, two to be exact.

But Tyler Ebell nearly left the high-school ranks without one very important accolade--a championship.

Thanks to a strong second-half performance, Ebell got what he wanted, a victory in the last, and most important, game of his Ventura High career.

Ebell rushed for 277 yards and three touchdowns in 29 carries, and Ventura defeated Arroyo Grande, 35-14, in the Southern Section Division IV championship Saturday night before an estimated 5,500 at Arroyo Grande.

Ebell was merely average in the first half, with 56 yards rushing, a large chunk coming on a 33-yard burst up the middle near the end of the first quarter. He had only 14 yards in the second quarter.

But he bounced back with a typical second half, scoring on runs of 77 and 40 yards as the Cougars broke free of a 14-14 tie at halftime.

“I was saying [at halftime] that we were going to come down and we were going to win,” Ebell said. “We knew we had them where we wanted them. We’re the best second-half team around.”

And the best team in school history.

The Cougars lost to Camarillo in a division championship in 1984 and tied Paso Robles in a lower-level division title game in 1951.

Now, the Cougars (13-1) have a title all their own.

“We’re taking it back to our house,” Ebell said, smiling.

Ebell, who has committed to UCLA, finished with 4,495 yards rushing and 64 rushing touchdowns, extending the national season records he set earlier in the playoffs.

He also set the state career rushing record on a 20-yard carry with nearly 2:00 left in the third quarter, finishing with 7,385 yards and passing David Dostson of Moreno Valley Valley View, who rushed for 7,257 yards from 1989-91.

Ventura took a 14-0 lead on a one-yard run by Ebell with 8:13 left in the second quarter.

But Arroyo Grande, which won three playoff games by a combined nine points, showed it would stick around for a while, scoring two second-quarter touchdowns.

Receiver Sean Shields, a converted quarterback, scored on a 29-yard pass play with 5:16 left and followed it up with a 14-yard touchdown catch with three seconds left in the half.

But Arroyo Grande (8-5), which won sectional championships in 1997 and 1998, could not stop Ebell in the second half. Ebell had 221 yards in 16 carries in the second half.

“They said [before the season] that our goal is to play 14 games,” Ventura Coach Phil McCune said. “Obviously, we reached our goal and won the 14th game.”