HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

The Simi Valley boys’ team will begin the second half of an arduous part of its schedule at 7 tonight when the Pioneers play at Moorpark in a Marmonte League opener.

Simi Valley (11-2), which played four games in the Torrey Pines tournament last week, will play five games in the next eight days.

Tonight’s game will be followed by a game at Westlake on Friday, a game against Crespi in the Mission-Marmonte league challenge at Crespi on Saturday, a game at Agoura on Monday and a game against visiting Newbury Park next Wednesday.

“This is a huge week for us,” Coach Christian Aurand said. “We’re going to have to be up. If we’re not, we’re going to get beat.”

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Simi Valley, which has won 25 consecutive Marmonte League games dating to the 1997-98 season, got a boost last week when senior Matt Chin played for the first time after missing the first nine games because of a broken bone in his left hand.

Chin, a 6-3 forward, was contending for a starting spot before injuring his hand in practice.

“He’ll be a big addition for us,” Aurand said. “He can play for us in a couple of different positions.”

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Dan Larson, boys’ coach at Ventura, is eager to see how Tyler Ebell fares in his first basketball game of the season tonight when the Cougars play at Channel Islands.

The UCLA-bound Ebell rushed for a national-record 4,494 yards and 64 touchdowns this past season and he gained 77 yards in 19 carries in the inaugural National High School All-Star Football game at Highland Park High in Dallas on Saturday.

“He’s so much quicker and stronger than last year,” Larson said. “In just a few days of practice, he’s looked a little rusty, but he’s quite a physical specimen.”