Christopher “Tick” Jellison did not run onto the field at Peabody Stadium before the start of last Friday’s Santa Barbara High football game. He skipped. “That’s Tick’s personality,” Dons coach JT Stone said. “He’s skipping, or he’s doing backflips in the hallway. He’s our Energizer Bunny.”
Santa Barbara’s offense was ticking throughout the game, a 52-7 victory over the Channel Islands Raiders, and Jellison was involved from beginning to end. The 5’10”, 175-pound junior returned the opening kickoff to the 41-yard line; he caught six passes, two of them for touchdowns; and he kicked the Dons’ last extra points.
“Tick’s definitely the best athlete we have,” said senior quarterback Brent Peus, who completed 20 of 27 passes for 244 yards. “He plays with a relentless energy that stays from the first quarter to the fourth. He’s a character, a funny guy, but he’s not rah-rah before a game. He’s very calm, and then his energy comes out on the field.”
