Ebke runs wild for Spartans

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BY KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

Jim Ebke became the personification of the verb “rampage.”  He ran with a fury. He was violent in the hands of would-be tacklers and ran wild around other defenders.

“I had to do something because I had the interception and I was fumbling around and I can’t be doing that to the team,” he said.

Ebke’s repentance was one of the most impressive performances ever at Seacrest Field.

The Lincoln East senior quarterback rushed for two touchdowns and 274 yards to lead the Spartans to a wild 35-24 victory over Norfolk on Friday in the first round of the Class A state playoffs.

Ebke rushed for 252 yards in the final 18 minutes of the game, broke up two passes and rallied his team from a three-touchdown third- quarter deficit.

“I don’t want to make comparisons, but he reminds me of Eric Crouch with his balance, moves, speed and quickness and the way he does it all on a dead run,” said Norfolk coach Tom Olson, referring to the former Husker who won the  Heisman Trophy.

It was hard to find Ebke or the East offense in the first half. Ebke  gained just 28 yards on 12 carries and hit just 2 of 8 passes before halftime.

The Panthers rolled to a 24-3 lead as they cashed in on a Ebke fumble and an Ebke pass interception in the first six minutes of the third quarter. After Norfolk scored on the  63-yard interception return, Ebke and the Spartans took over.

“Jim was disappointed in himself and upset with it,” said East tackle Jake Hansen, who with Spartan fullback  Garek Petry was a constant source of blocking. “I knew he’d come around.”

The Spartans drove 61 yards in 12 plays and Ebke hit Justin Burns on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 left in the third quarter.

Norfolk lost a fumble on the first play after the kickoff and Ebke raced 26 yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Levi Lash to cut the deficit to 24-16.

Two minutes later, Ebke slipped through four tackles on a 72-yard run. That set up his 19-yard touchdown run to cut the gap to 24-22 with 8:21 left in the game.

“Jim is harder on himself than anybody else and I have to keep him on an even keel because he wants to score on every play,” East coach John Gingery said. “You can tell when he’s on a roll. We got on him and rode him.”

Lash forced another Norfolk fumble and Burns recovered at the East 35-yard line.

Two plays later, Ebke scored on a 59-yard run around the left end to put the Spartans ahead 28-24 with 5:11 left.

East stopped Norfolk on downs and, for good measure, Ebke ran 28 yards to the Norfolk 6. Two plays later, Lash scored again.

That made for five East touchdowns and 211 yards rushing by Ebke in just more than 11 minutes.

“I was afraid we’d run him (Ebke) to death but he’s a really special kid,” Gingery said.

Olson said he told his team that 24 points would not be enough.

“We had to get more but we didn’t move the ball after we had the big lead,” he said. Norfolk quarterback Nate Shively, who suffered a deep arm bruise, hit 10 of his first 14 passes for 80 yards. But he connected on  just 4 of his last 11 passes for 21 yards.

The Spartan defense held the Panthers to two first downs in the second half and limited Norfolk to 78 yards in the final two quarters.

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or at khambleton@journalstar.com.