Crespi Wins Game and a Berth in Playoffs

Call the Crespi High football team a lot of things, but through the past few years, helpless hasn’t been one of them.

The Celts beat St. Francis, 28-7, Friday night, but the postgame celebration was put on hold for more than 30 minutes.

The Celts (7-3 overall, 2-2 in league play) had to wait that long before results of another Del Rey League game between Alemany and St. John Bosco filtered through to La Canada.

Finally, the news arrived that Alemany had beaten St. John Bosco, qualifying both Alemany and Crespi for the Division I playoffs. A St. John Bosco win would have meant a three-way tie among Alemany, St. John Bosco and Crespi at 2-2 with only two playoff berths available. Instead, St. John Bosco fell to 1-3 and is eliminated. Crespi finished third, one game behind second-place Alemany.

Leonice Brown led Crespi with an impressive performance, rushing for 134 yards and one touchdown in 18 carries.

“This whole situation made us think about how bad we want to play football,” Brown said. “We don’t want our season to end now.”

Sophomore quarterback Cody Smith completed 12 of 17 passes for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tight end Christian Fauria caught six passes for 91 yards, including a diving reception for a 24-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Crespi limited the Knights to only seven yards in the first half and 114 in the game.

St. Francis broke the shutout in the third quarter when quarterback John Willis hit Mike Torres with a 14-yard pass to cut the margin to 21-7.

Lucas Freeman added a four-yard touchdown for the Celts in the fourth quarter.

The Celts took a 21-0 lead in a first half, but the margin easily could have been greater.

Crespi outgained the Knights, 205-7, and ran 31 plays to the St. Francis 14. However, the Celts lost two fumbles deep in Knights territory to squander another pair of prime scoring opportunities.

Smith, a 15-year-old sophomore, completed 10 of 13 first-half attempts for 117 yards. Brown gained 84 yards in 10 carries.