STATWATCH : Crespi Has the Horsepower to Drive for 55

There is always room for improvement. When Crespi defeated St. Francis, 56-27, Friday, it marked the third time this season the Celts had scored 55 or more points. Last year, when the Celts finished 13-1 and won the Big Five Conference championship, their single-game high was 48.

Over the past two seasons, Crespi is 18-1-1 and has outscored its opponents, 722-184. During that span, the defense has allowed more than 17 points on only two occasions and has recorded five shutouts. Crespi (5-0-1) is unbeaten in its past 11 games.

Opponents must be cowering at the mere thought of facing the Celts, right? Not exactly.

“I really don’t think they’ve been tested yet,” said Loyola junior quarterback Jason Evans, who watched Crespi beat St. Francis. “They’ve been playing some really weak teams. I’m looking ahead to them.”

The Cubs, who are 6-0 and ranked No. 15 in the nation by USA Today, defeated Notre Dame on Saturday, 24-0. Crespi, ranked ninth in the nation, plays Loyola at Pierce College on Nov. 6. A year ago, Crespi overcame a 14-0 deficit to defeat Loyola, 21-14.

Rushing: In Saturday’s 24-0 loss to Loyola, Notre Dame drove 72 yards on its first possession, but Chris Afarian missed a 21-yard field goal. Notre Dame rushed for 47 yards on the drive, but it was the last anyone heard of the Knights’ ground game--Loyola held them to minus-10 yards thereafter. . . . Marmonte League running backs still represent the Valley area’s strongest contingent. Lined up behind Crespi’s Russell White in the Southern Section statistics are Thousand Oaks’ Marc Monestime (818 yards), Camarillo’s Bill Bell (808 yards) and Simi Valley’s Tony Kerr (772 yards). . . . Taft has rushed for 949 yards in four games, trailing only North Hollywood among Valley teams in the City Section. The team’s passing game, however, is nonexistent. Taft has completed 7 of 29 attempts for 108 yards.

Passing: Newbury Park’s Wayne Cook, nursing two sore shoulders, has thrown for 889 yards but has completed only 38.7% of his passes. The junior quarterback has 11 touchdown passes and six interceptions. “In the last three or four games he hasn’t had the same zip on the ball,” said Newbury Park Coach Ken Cook, who is Wayne’s father. “We’re catching more passes, but so is the other team.” Five of the interceptions have come in the past two games. . . . Burbank’s quarterback combination of Fred Castillo and Anthony Valento has completed 73% of its passes. Castillo is 32 of 42 for 321 yards and Valento is 13 of 19 for 149 yards. . . . Burroughs’ Jeff Barrett, the school’s career passing leader, has thrown for 5,001 yards after a 245-yard performance last week against Schurr.

Offense: Only three Pac 8 teams scored at least one touchdown in the first week of league play--Westchester (34 against Poly), Reseda (33 points against Venice) and University (7 against North Hollywood). The other five teams scored three points or fewer--two had field goals, two were shut out, and one managed a safety. The offensive nadir was Grant’s 2-0 win over Sylmar in which the teams combined for 97 yards in total offense; 16 running backs, 13 quarterbacks and 6 receivers in the Valley area accounted for more yardage individually. . . . In Poly’s first four games, running back Shawn Campbell has accounted for 55% of the team’s yardage. He has 461 (344 rushing, 77 passing and 40 receiving) of Poly’s 831 yards. . . . Camarillo has passed Thousand Oaks for the Marmonte League lead in rushing and total offense. In six games, the Scorpions have gained 1,363 yards on the ground and 1,833 overall. Thousand Oaks has 1,338 yards rushing and 1,722 overall.

Extra points: Punter David Stratton has been a bright spot for Moorpark (1-5). He has a 43.3 average on 27 kicks. . . . Bennett Fisher of Calabasas caught three touchdown passes against Santa Clara to break a school record of two shared by five players. Tony Sirkin, in 1986, was the last player to catch two scoring passes. . . . Mark Senter’s 47-yard field goal broke an Agoura school record. Rob Sahm set the mark in 1985 with a 45-yard kick.