Crown Point’s Larry Ellison has found a new home at running back.
He’s no longer a quarterback. No longer a cornerback. No longer a safety.
“I’ve been all over. … It’s been a journey,” Ellison said.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior’s journey continued Friday, when he rushed for 182 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries in less than three quarters of the Bulldogs’ impressive 39-6 Duneland Athletic Conference win against Merrillville in Crown Point.
Ellison’s TD runs for the Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0), who are ranked No. 9 in the Class 6A poll by The Associated Press, included a 47-yarder and a 12-yarder following a fumble recovery by Griffin Van Tichelt.
“I’m shifty,” Ellison said. “Whenever I get in the open field, I like to do my moves, get around defenders.”
But Ellison was quick to credit his offensive line, which created hole after hole as Crown Point controlled the line of scrimmage against the Pirates (2-1, 0-1), who are ranked No. 2 in Class 5A in the AP poll.
“Our O-line proved their point,” he said. “I was seeing wide-open green. Great holes all around. I was just playing football out there, doing my thing, get in the end zone.”
Ellison played quarterback for most of his freshman season before moving to cornerback toward the end. He shifted to safety last season, earning a starting spot.
“I’m happy to get to transfer back to offense,” he said. “It’s pretty nice. I’m pretty happy about it. I’m excited to see how it goes on throughout the year.”
Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said Ellison’s formula was pretty simple.
“Following his blocks,” Buzea said. “This is the first time Larry’s ever played running back. Ever.
“We know he has some ball skills, so we moved him over. It was rough early in the summer. He had never done it. … He’s coming into his own. He’s had three games. He’s very versatile, he’s very shifty and he knows how to play behind that line.”
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Jacob Jones caught an 11-yard screen pass from Noah Ehrlich for a TD, and Trevor Gibbs caught a 15-yard TD pass from Logan Hadt to complete Crown Point’s scoring.
“I feel like we did what we thought we could do,” Buzea said. “People talk about our offensive line and how young they are, but we came out and pounded the ball like we wanted to do. We did some things with tempo and caught them off guard a little bit. As the game wore on, it wasn’t our plan to continue to do that, but let’s just run the ball, mix in some passes and go from there.
“A lot of people may look at us this year as a passing team. But it always starts with the run for us. It opens some things up. When we had to throw it, wanted to throw it, we did. But let’s give our offensive line some credit.”
Crown Point triggered a running clock midway through the fourth quarter. Merrillville scored on the game’s final play, when Xamere Martin caught a 23-yard TD pass from Darnell Bowles.
“Our first-team defense in three games has not let up a touchdown,” Buzea said. “All three touchdowns have been in the fourth quarter late when the game’s been out of hand. Our defense has been lights-out.”
Merrillville’s John Peters had five catches for 70 yards and an interception against Crown Point, which won the DAC and went undefeated until losing in a sectional final last year.
“They’re very, very talented,” Buzea said of the Pirates. “We won’t play a more talented team. Speed has been our kryptonite since we’ve been here, and I think we’re getting better at playing against it.
“It’s a big win as far as repeating. … We have a streak going, and we want to keep it going. It’s a lot of fun. … We’re very happy where we are right now.”
Ellison agreed about the Bulldogs’ start.
“This is fantastic,” he said. “We’re looking to go on a roll, go undefeated, keep the title again this year.”