By Don Ketchum

No blade of grass at Surprise Stadium was left untouched by Seth Ellis on Friday night (June 22).

The running back from Coolidge High ran forward, backward, left, right, you name it.

He finished with 188 yards on 19 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns, earning the MVP award as the Division IV team defeated the combined squad from divisions V and VI 38-13 in the Arizona Football Coaches Association All-Star Game.

He had 76 yards in the first half, 41 on a scoring run. His first carry of the second half was a 5-yard TD, but it seemed like 25 as he went back and forth across the field, looking for an opening.

 That run was set up by Danny Groebner’s 98-yard return of the second-half kickoff. All-Star rules allow the ball to be run out of the end zone, and Groebner, a product of Lakeside Blue Ridge, took the ball about seven yards deep in the end zone and returned it to the opponent’s 9. A penalty gave the Division IV  team four more yards.

Ellis’ best run of the night did not get him into the end zone. He had a 70-yard run, with more reversals, spins and elusive moves that gave his team the ball at the Division V-VI 5-yard line.

It was easy to see why Ellis rushed for 1,966 yards and 38 TDs as a senior.

He said this was the same style of running that he had used all season.

“I’m used to it,’’ he said.

Coolidge has had a long line of star running backs, and Ellis is the latest.

“I have been inspired by the guys who have gone before me,’’ he said. “They have made me want to do better, keep running, work on my elusiveness.’’

He said he was in good shape, in part from running track, participating in the sprints and long jump.

“This week has been really fun. I’m glad they put me on this team,’’ said Ellis, who will play for Scottsdale Community College and hopes to move on to the University of Arizona after that.

The game featured several other big plays.

The Division V-VI squad actually had a 7-0 lead, just 1:08 into the game when Thatcher’s Kevin White caught an 86-yard halfback pass for a touchdown, doing a flip in the end zone and getting flagged for excessive celebration.

Ellis’ 41-yard run came with 3:54 left in the second quarter. Groebner’s kickoff return ignited the fire in the second half. And Florence’s Deshaun Davis scored on a 70-yard punt return with 5:43 left in the game, his second TD of the night.

The Division V-VI team’s last TD was a big pass play of 42 yards from quarterback Tommy Pistone to his Yuma Catholic teammate Everett McKinney with 1:08 left in the game.

Note: The Arizona vs. Southern California All-Star game will be played Saturday night (June 23) at 7 at Surprise Stadium.