Football: Crespi hopes to continue fast start

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Encino Crespi takes on its fourth consecutive opponent from outside the Southern Section and its third from outside Southern California when it hosts Clovis West of Fresno tonight.

The Celts (3-0), ranked 14th in the Southland by The Times, moved up two spots following last week’s 42-28 triumph over Liberty from Henderson, Nevada. They opened the season with a 35-20 win over Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, then routed Woodland Hills Taft from the Los Angeles City Section 43-7 the next week.

Clovis West enters the game 0-2, losing to Merced and Canyon Country Canyon. The Golden Eagles are two years removed from a 12-1 season when they beat Bakersfield 20-10 for the Central Section Division 1 championship. Their only blemish was by one point against Crespi--a game in which Celts quarterback Kenneth Stenhouse threw for 416 yards and three touchdowns.

At halftime, Crespi will hold a ceremony in honor of former quarterback Rob O’Byrne, who led the Celts to the Southern Section Big 5 title in 1986 with the help of All-CIF running back Russell White. According to athletic director Matt Luderer, O’Byrne was beaten and killed outside of a bar about a month ago.

Crespi is 18-7 under Coach Jon Mack but finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Serra League and missed the Pac-5 Division playoffs last season.

Kickoff is 30 minutes away. Stay logged on for scoring updates.

-- Steve Galluzzo