THE BALANCE OF POWER AT CRESPI HIGH : Sean Howard Makes a Case for the Defense

Alley fights were nothing new to Crespi High’s football team. The Celts thrashed their first three opponents this season and left them for dead, sometimes laughing and singing as they trotted away, counting the contents of their victims’ wallets.

They were adept at 48-minute muggings.

The problem was, Westminster was, too. And Westminster’s players, who looked like so many Hulk Hogans when lined up against the smaller Celts, were riled after the Crespi defense delivered a late hit to their quarterback in last Friday’s game.

Westminster responded by lining up and pointing a few fingers in the Celts’ faces. Some words were exchanged and, if ever there were a time for someone to step forward and calm the situation, that was it. Emotion on both sides of the ball was so high, a fight seemed only a head slap away.

Suddenly, Crespi’s Sean Howard went from one teammate to another, whispering to each.

“Westminster kind of lost its composure and they were saying a lot of things,” defensive lineman Steve Puryear said. “Sean came over to each of us and told us to calm down, play Crespi football and be a class act. To have him come over and say that, at that time, helped us all gain control.”

While sophomore running back Russell White has taken the football and run wild, taking most of the headlines and attention with him, Howard has very quietly stepped forward and taken the reins of one of the Valley’s stingiest defenses.

In building a 4-0 record, Crespi has given up only 13 points and 490 total yards. Before the Westminster game, the Celts had limited opponents to minus three rushing yards.

Howard doesn’t mind the lack of attention. Just give him a quarterback to plant in the mud and he’ll be just fine.

“I don’t worry about the ink,” Howard said. “It doesn’t mean much to me at all. As long as I can prove myself on the football field, I’m happy.”

White may catch the eyes of the fans in the crowd, many of whom show up at Crespi on Friday nights just to see the 15-year-old runner bolt through defenses, but Howard is hardly playing in anonymity.

The 6-4, 215-pound outside linebacker was listed as “a senior to watch” in Street and Smith’s preseason football publication and has received letters from about 35 major colleges. He’s been contacted by every Pacific 10 school and this week also received a personal letter from Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer. Only time will tell whether Howard will become the next Brian Bosworth.

“It would be nice to go to Oklahoma,” Howard said. “But I don’t know if I’d exactly be another Boz. He talks an awful lot and I never talk. As far as being as good a football player as he is, I’d do everything within my capabilities to try to be.”

And Oklahoma fans may have a hard time accepting a Sooner linebacker who doesn’t combine the personality traits of Oil Can Boyd, Jim McMahon and John McEnroe.

Oklahoma doesn’t quite have a lock on Howard, though. He says he’s open game to any college that wants him.

“I keep receiving things from schools,” he said. “But I haven’t had the chance to sit down with my family and decide where I want to go.”

Why should he? After all, Howard’s not even halfway through his senior season. Not that he has anything to worry about. The season has run as smooth as silk over Telly Savalas’ scalp.

Despite sitting out the equivalent of 1 1/2 games because his team was so far ahead, Howard has made 28 tackles. The one time Howard played anything close to a full game, he made 11 tackles against Westminster.

“He was a good player last year,” Coach Bill Redell said. “But he’s a great player this year. That year of maturity between the junior and senior years can be a big factor.”

Teammate Puryear says he noticed a change in Howard near the end of last season.

“He’s really come into his own and become a team leader,” Puryear said. “He found out late last year that he could really play if he started thinking more and that’s exactly what he’s done.”

Howard credits his improvement to his new-found confidence.

“Last year, I was out there worrying about not making mistakes,” he said. “I feel a lot more sure of myself this season.”

Last year, he was named to the All-Del Rey League second team. This season, his name is included in just about every scouting list as being among the elite high school linebackers in the nation.

“When those came out, I said to myself, ‘God, I hope I can live up to it,’ ” he said. “It made me nervous, but it also gave me another goal to strive for. So far, I think I’ve lived up to it.”

Although he’s having a big season, his head still fits into his helmet. No ego problems here.

“I think if I was an average football player on the other side of the ball, I wouldn’t be intimidated by me,” he said. “I’d be more intimidated by some of the other guys we have on our team.”

While Howard has been a defensive force, the key to Crespi’s defensive success has been its overall strength and depth.

“Sean is definitely the team leader,” linebacker John Carpenter said. “But if any one guy goes down, we’ll just put in the next guy and he’ll pick up where the other guy left off. We’ve already shown that. When we’ve jumped ahead of some teams, we’ve put in the other guys and they’ve done just as well.”

Carpenter is no water boy himself. Redell considers the 6-5, 230-pound senior a major college prospect, and Carpenter has been contacted by Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington and USC, among others.

“We’re able to do some things on defense that we weren’t able to do last year,” Redell said. “We’ve got some excellent personnel and the maturity of Sean Howard and John Carpenter has also been a tremendous help. Last year, we had guys playing on defense that had never played football before. I’m letting them do more things now, like stunts, blitzes, dogs, man-to-man coverages. I would have never let them go man-to-man last year.”

Whatever they’re doing, it has worked. The Celts have allowed an average of 122 yards a game, best among the Valley area’s Southern Section teams. Howard and Carpenter have been two of the biggest reasons for their success.

Said Redell: “When our team has given up only 140 yards rushing in four games, that says something about our linebackers because our defense is designed so that the linebackers make most of our tackles.”

Carpenter argues that the credit belongs to more than just the linebackers.

“We each have confidence in ourselves and our teammates,” he said. “We know there’s going to be 10 other guys behind us if we do mess up. It’s almost as if we are 11 guys playing and thinking as one person.”

Despite Crespi defense, you can bet the lines at the concession stand will still be the longest when the defense takes the field. No one wants to miss a single run by White.

Here’s White, only a sophomore, huddled with reporters after the game. It has to bother the members of the defense, right?

“That’s a very good question because I was concerned with it myself,” Redell said. “I knew he was going to be a great running back and that he was going to get a lot of attention. But all of them are pulling for each other and have been very positive. Athletes appreciate a great athlete. These kids know that Russell White can help them win.”

Said Carpenter: “Russell’s exposure doesn’t bother us. I was thinking to myself once, ‘Why doesn’t it? Maybe it should.’ But when Russell gets written up, it’s like we all are.”

Perhaps sophomore defensive lineman Quinn Fauria put it best.

“Everyone reads about Russell White and our offense. I guess we’re the Silent Killers. Maybe a whole lot of people haven’t taken notice of us yet, but they will if we continue to play like we are right now.”