Crespi Buries San Fernando and Wynn in 17-7 Victory

Normally, Michael Wynn is the most recognizable player in the San Fernando High backfield.

On Friday night, however, he was a tough guy to spot, what with his face mask lodged into the turf and all.

Crespi’s Christian Fauria, Frank Romano and Joe Mahoney were much easier to identify. They were the ones celebrating over Wynn’s fallen body after they combined to sack the All-City Section quarterback five times en route to a 17-7 nonleague victory over the fourth-ranked Tigers at Pierce College.

“It was really devastating,” Wynn said. “This is really frustrating.”

San Fernando (0-2), once known as a devastating running force, was limited to just four yards on the ground and 62 total.

“There’s not much to say other than that we looked like . . . the whole game,” Tiger Coach Tom Hernandez said.

If you listen to Crespi Coach Tim Lins, the Celts’ game plan had a little to do with that.

“We felt that if we could take (Wynn) away, we could stop them,” he said. “They hardly had the ball. It was usually three plays and punt.”

Indeed. San Fernando’s only score came in the second quarter when defensive back Danny Wright intercepted a Bill Canalez pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.

By that time, Crespi (2-1) had already built a 14-0 lead, and the Celts’ defense was regularly flushing Wynn out of the pocket and ruining any plan of attack the Tigers had.

But Crespi’s defenders weren’t satisfied with that.

“I should have had him so many more times than I did,” said Romano, a junior who has become the Celts’ most effective lineman.

Crespi put together a balanced offense to complement the play of the defensive line. The Celts gained 139 yards passing and 138 yards on the ground. Running back Leonice Brown led Celt rushers, gaining 118 yards in 26 carries.

Brown’s two-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter started the scoring and helped give the Celts a 7-0 lead.

Canalez, who completed 17 of 30 passes for 107 yards, connected with Fauria on a 12-yard scoring pass on Crespi’s next possession. Fauria caught five passes for 48 yards.