Ebell Keeps Right on Rolling, and So Does Ventura, 43-30

Tyler Ebell of Ventura High and Jason Parker of Oxnard have been friends since they were 7. They once formed a backfield for an undefeated youth team.

But Ebell got the best of his former teammate Friday night, rushing for five touchdowns and throwing for another to lead Ventura to a 43-30 victory over Oxnard in a nonleague game at Oxnard.

Ebell, the region’s leading rusher and on pace to become the fourth player in state history to rush for 3,000 yards in the regular season, had 378 yards in 32 carries. He scored twice in the final two minutes of the first half to give the Cougars (5-0) a 22-6 lead.

Ebell raised his season total to 1,784 yards.

Ebell scored on touchdown runs on 35, six, 32, 14 and 26 yards. He passed for the Cougars’ other touchdown and ran for a two-point conversion. After another score, Ebell pitched the ball on an option to Joaquin Real for a two-point conversion.

Parker scored four touchdowns for Oxnard (1-4), running for scores of five, nine and seven yards. Parker connected with with Tim Eglin on a 77-yard scoring pass play. Parker finished with 58 yards in 12 carries.

“Oxnard came out pumped up tonight,” Ebell said. “We had a sluggish week in practice and started slow. We need to pick it up next week against Buena.”

Ventura led, 8-6, before Ebell scored on a six-yard run with one minute to play in the half.

An interception by Sean McNairy set up Ebell’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Foster three seconds before the half.

Parker’s nine-yard scoring run in the third quarter cut the deficit to 22-14, but Ebell scored twice in the quarter’s final two minutes.

On Ebell’s second score, a 14-yard run, he was stopped at the line of scrimmage but broke free to give Ventura a 36-14 lead.

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Ebell Watch

Tyler Ebell of Ventura is on pace to become the fourth player in state history to rush for 3,000 yards in a regular season. The others are David Dotson of Moreno Valley Valley View, John Bordenkircher of Dixon and Chris Hanks of Cathedral. A look at Ebell’s season:

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Opponent Att. Yds. Avg. TD Simi Valley 12 330 27.5 4 Moorpark 26 375 14.4 5 Royal 21 308 14.8 4 Arroyo Grande 44 393 8.93 6 Oxnard 32 378 11.8 5 Totals 135 1,784 13.21 24

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