Petaluma High quarterback Ellis heads to Bowdoin College in Maine

Editor’s Note: This is one in a continuing series on local high school senior athletes and their college choices.

Academics won out over athletics when it came time for Petaluma High senior quarterback Henry Ellis to choose a college.

Not that Ellis is finished with football. He will continue to play the sport he loves, but a bigger reason for putting his name to a commitment to attend Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine was the school’s academic reputation.

Bowdoin is a small liberal arts school of around 1,800 students that was founded in 1794, six years before Maine became a state. Although it is known for its academics, it also has a thriving athletic program. A Division III school, its teams play in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Last season, the Polar Bears had a 3-6 record.

Even through the deciding factor for Ellis was academics, football was important consideration. “It was probably 51% academics and 49% football,” Ellis explained.

His goal is to become a lawyer. “I want to be a criminal prosecutor,” he said.

What really convinced Ellis that Bowdoin was the college for him was a visit where he met with the coaches and football players and got to spend time with quarterbacks coach Jim Cerf. “After the visit, I definitely knew it was the place I wanted to be,” the player said.

Academics were high on Ellis’ priority list, but neither him or the football coaching staff overlooked his football ability.

“I was recruited as a quarterback, but if that doesn’t work out, I could play safety on defense,” he said.

Ellis’ senior season at Petaluma, while successful and rewarding, wasn’t exactly what he envisioned.

It started promisingly enough, with decisive wins over Terra Linda and Santa Rosa and a disappointing, but exciting, loss to Analy. But in a final game before the start of Vine Valley Athletic League play against Maria Carrillo, he injured his shoulder so severely that, after the season, he required surgery.

He was on the sideline for Petaluma’s biggest win of the season, a 28-26 win over Vintage, the first time a Petaluma team had ever beaten Vintage in football.

He returned in the season’s seventh game against Sonoma Valley in a blowout Petaluma win, but threw just 6 passes, completing 4, 1 for a touchdown.

He played the rest of the season, even though his shoulder was never quite. That didn’t stop him from completing 42 of 92 passes for 535 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also gained 317 yards rushing, averaging 7.5 yards a carry and ran for 7 touchdowns.

But the numbers don’t come anywhere near telling the story of Ellis’ value to the Trojans.

Petaluma’s option offense is absolutely dependent on the quarterback’s ability to handle the football with slight-of-hand efficiency and to “read” opposing defenses with eye-blink swiftness and arrow accuracy. Ellis did that as well as any Petaluma quarterback ever.

He was also the animated spiritual leader while in the game or on the sidelines.

“Henry is a real high energy guy,” noted Petaluma football coach Rick Krist. “He was our captain for two years and gave us really good leadership. He is a very unique young man. Over the course of his three years on the varsity, we gained a trust that worked both ways.”

Ellis is a vocal leader, but Krist said it is never about him. “He is a really good team guy,” the coach said. “He had everybody’s back. With him, it is really about the other guys.”

Krist has no doubts that Ellis will be a success on the football field at Bowdoin. “He is strong and has good athleticism,” the coach pointed out. “There is no doubt he can play at Bowdoin. He could probably play at a higher level.”

Ellis acknowledges that he is a little apprehensive about traveling across country to continue his education, but points out that his father’s parents live in Connecticut and his older brother Whiitaker is attending Syracuse University in New York, so he won’t be totally alone.

His time at Petaluma High was marred by the COVID pandemic which essentially cost him his sophomore season, but he enjoyed his time at the west side school where he is senior class president. “It was a good overall experience,” he observed. “This year was memorable for me. There were a lot of good experiences being with my teammates. Every game we had a ton of fun.”

His family – father Geoff, mother Phoebe, brother Whittaker and sister Lacy – are among his favorite fans.

Perhaps his biggest fan, the man he calls his “mentor,” is his grandfather, Dan Libarle. “He has been very supportive,” Ellis said.