HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW : Crespi, Alemany Realistic About Title Prospects

The cry gains momentum as it sweeps down the canyons and carries onto the San Fernando Valley floor. A pair of bleating parochial voices, in stereo, if not in harmony.

The theme is the same.

The dream is the same.

We’re No. 3!

For the football teams at Crespi and Alemany highs, third place and its automatic Southern Section playoff berth might be a tall order, for the competition stands tall, indeed.

Loyola and Bishop Amat, two of the most successful teams in Southern California, spent the past few seasons banging heads in the tough Angelus League.

This season, like sharks thrown into a kiddie pool, they will compete in the re-formed Del Rey League. For Alemany and Crespi, already reeling from key losses to graduation, this is not good news. This is not great timing.

And this is not unbridled optimism: “We may have to take our lumps for a couple of years,” said Crespi Coach Tim Lins, who hopes a solid foundation of underclassmen can help in the future.

When first-year Alemany Coach Pat Degnan looks at the competition, he also cannot help but grimace.

To wit: Loyola won the Southern Section Division I title in 1990 and reached the semifinals last fall. . . . Crespi and St. John Bosco played for the Big Five Conference title in 1986. . . . Bishop Amat reached the Division I final in 1988. . . . St. Paul reached the Division III final in 1990.

Alemany is, well, still looking for the basic bread and butter. “This is no peanut-butter-and-jelly conference,” Degnan said. “These guys are all CIF champions.”

Degnan was thrilled to land the position at Alemany, but the obstacles have been stacking up since. Alemany must face seven teams that made the playoffs last fall, and like Crespi, the Indians were promoted to Division I from the Division III Mission League.

Loyola and Bishop Amat are again expected to contend for the Division I title. In Cal-Hi Sports magazine’s preseason Division I top 10, Loyola is ranked second and Bishop Amat 10th.

“They’re definitely part of the liability category,” Degnan cracked.

In short, Crespi and Alemany probably will be left fighting St. Paul and St. John Bosco for the league’s final playoff berth.

“That’s pretty much what it looks like,” Lins said.

Crespi won the Mission League title last fall behind record-setting quarterback Cody Smith, now at Pacific. Smith, who shattered several school passing marks, led Crespi to its first league title since 1973.

Alemany lost perhaps the best trio of skill-position players in the region in tailback Terry Barnum (USC), receiver Richard Dice (Arizona) and quarterback Adam Romandi. Even with their talented triumvirate, the Indians failed to reach the playoffs.

“The positive side of losing guys like Dice and Barnum is that we’re in a situation where we won’t be relying on two people,” said Degnan, an assistant the past six seasons at Cal State Northridge. “They’ll have to look at stopping more than just a couple of players.”

Crespi, on the other hand, might have difficulty stopping anybody. The Celts lost every defensive starter from last season and hope to use running backs Torie Lee (1,167 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Deron McElroy (197, two) to keep opposing offenses off the field. Last season, though, Crespi allowed 279 yards a game, which is hardly stingy.

Bishop Amat’s nucleus includes a pair of returning standouts in junior tailback Rodney Sermons and senior quarterback Mike Smith. A pair of burly defensive linemen, Willhans Ili (5-foot-11, 260 pounds) and Chris Gallardo (6-1, 250) will attempt to slow the likes of McElroy and Lee.

If Bishop Amat has weaknesses, they are in the linebacker corps and in the secondary. As many as four sophomore linebackers and defensive backs could start.

“I’m sure people will figure that out pretty fast,” Bishop Amat Coach Mark Paredes said.

Loyola, which lost a pair of talented running backs in Matt Vanis and Michael Brown, certainly has the reserves to call upon. The Loyola sophomore team has not lost a game in more than six years.

The upperclassmen are no slugs, either. Loyola is 10-3 in the playoffs the past three seasons and has advanced to the semifinal round or beyond each year. Overall, Loyola is 54-9 over the past five seasons.

Bishop Amat defeated Loyola in Angelus League play the past two seasons, but if returning quarterback Clelio Boccato can exploit the Bishop Amat secondary, there could be a transition of power.

In the top two places, that is.

Beyond Loyola and Bishop Amat, though, devaluation takes hold.

“It’s a coin toss,” Degnan said.

DEL REY LEAGUE

FINAL 1991 RECORDS* PROJECTED FINISH Bishop Amat: 9-2, 3-1 Loyola** Loyola: 9-3, 3-1 Bishop Amat** Crespi: 7-4, 5-1 St. John Bosco** Alemany: 6-4, 3-3 Crespi* St. Paul: 3-8, 3-3 Alemany* St. John Bosco: 2-8, 0-4 St. Paul*

* Del Rey League did not exist in 1991.

* Denotes schools that played in Mission League.

** Denotes schools that played in Angelus League.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Rick Avina St. Paul DB 5-8 160 Sr. Clelio Boccato Loyola QB 6-1 190 Sr. Kwame Cain Loyola LB 6-1 230 Jr. James Foster St. John Bosco LB 6-0 195 Sr. James Hamilton St. John Bosco QB 6-0 180 Sr. Eugene Hanes St. John Bosco OT/DT 6-4 265 Sr. Robert Jungerhans Loyola OL 6-5 245 Sr. Torie Lee Crespi RB 5-8 180 Sr. Tom Lieb Loyola TE 6-2 220 Jr. Deron McElroy Crespi FB/NT 6-1 200 Jr. Paul Sauter Alemany OL 6-2 270 Sr. Rodney Sermons Bishop Amat RB 5-11 185 Jr. Mike Smith Bishop Amat QB 6-3 195 Sr. Chris Tashima Alemany QB 5-11 185 Sr. Aaron Villagran Bishop Amat TE 6-2 195 Sr.