Crespi Ironmen Rock Palmdale, 33-13

Crespi High All-American tailback Russell White was back in form Friday night, thanks in part to braces on his wounded ankles.

Quinn Fauria, a fullback-linebacker who wears a brace or two as well to help support his banged-up body, also was back in prime form.

Quarterback-defensive back Ron Redell, who had five passes intercepted last week, was back in the groove, too. Which means, in toto, that Crespi was firing on all cylinders Friday night, resulting in a 33-13 win over Palmdale.

The trio--a couple of ironmen and a man in irons--carried the Celts to a surprisingly easy win in what will be their only game of the season at Crespi High.

The Crespi stadium is affectionately dubbed “The Pit.” The game certainly was no bowl of cherries for Palmdale.

“We’re back,” Coach Bill Redell said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “We are back. I don’t know who that was out there last week.”

Last week, the Celts (1-1) stumbled their way to an embarrassing 28-6 loss to Redlands.

Palmdale, which entered the game ranked No. 6 in the Southern Section’s Division II, was the recipient of Crespi’s frustrations.

White led Crespi to a 21-0 halftime lead with another near-vintage performance, even though he estimated his sprained left ankle to be at only 80% of its full strength. He finished with 116 yards in 16 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 1 and 3 yards. White carried only once in the second half--for 48 yards--to set up Crespi’s fourth touchdown.

When White came out in the third quarter with the game in hand, Fauria took over. The 6-1, 210-pound senior bulldozed his way to 121 yards in 14 carries and scored on a 1-yard run with 10:01 remaining as Crespi took a 33-0 lead.

Can this be? Fauria finished with more yards than White?

“More power to him,” White quipped. “All we need is the big W. That’s all that matters.”

Ron Redell, supported by a successful running game, completed 7 of 10 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. With the triple threat working, Crespi was almost unstoppable, rolling up 379 yards of offense.

“We didn’t make mistakes,” Ron Redell said. “When you don’t make mistakes, you’re going to win. We didn’t dwell on Redlands. All we thought about was Palmdale, Palmdale, Palmdale.”

Crespi’s defense, which looked porous at times last week, held Palmdale to only 66 yards and 4 first downs in the first half. Palmdale finished with 250 yards, although most of it came during garbage time in the fourth quarter, when it scored its touchdowns.

White started the landslide in the first quarter, scoring from the one-yard line to finish a 12-play, 70-yard drive that gave the Celts a 7-0 lead.

On Crespi’s next possession, White took a screen pass from Redell and, behind a key block by receiver Chad Nichols, raced 54 yards for the score on the second play of the second quarter to give Crespi a 14-0 lead.

White scored from three yards with 4:28 left in the first half to cap an impressive 9-play, 98-yard drive that effectively buried the Falcons (1-1).

For Crespi, the lopsided win came as a great relief.

“This was absolutely pivotal,” Bill Redell said. “If we had lost this game, we would have struggled the rest of the season. I don’t know if these guys could have come back from 0-2.”