THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Loss to Crespi Still Grates on Blackburn

Although the cast of characters has changed substantially at Crespi High from last year, Alemany Coach Pat Blackburn is portraying the Celts as the bad guys to his players this week.

Crespi (4-2) defeated Alemany (3-3) three times in a row with All-American Russell White in the backfield, outscoring the Indians, 130-21. Last year’s 49-0 shellacking came in Blackburn’s first season at Alemany and that memory still burns hotly.

“That was an extreme embarrassment to our program and we don’t want that to happen again,” he said.

Blackburn was so incensed after last year’s loss that he refused to shake hands with then-Crespi Coach Bill Redell, claiming that the Celts showed no mercy. Although Tim Lins, a Redell assistant last year, has replaced Redell, Blackburn won’t let his players forget that game.

“I know it’s a new coach, but all my players remember,” he said. “They (the Celts) blocked a punt late in the game and were throwing long passes. And they put Russell in when they had a 35-0 lead. This is the biggest game of the year for us without a doubt.”

Despite the bitter taste left by last year’s game, Blackburn says that he will rise above feelings of revenge if his team builds a big lead.

“We don’t want to blow anybody off the face of the Earth,” he said. “I don’t believe in running up the score. But I’d sure . . . like to be up 35-0.”

Fits to a T: Last season, Kennedy’s quarterback was Tony Smets. This season, it is Tony Vazquez. Waiting his chance is Tavaris Logie, who seems well-equipped to continue the Golden Cougars’ frenetic run-and-shoot offense.

Logie, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, is playing for the B team but already has impressed coaches with his speed and arm. Smallish, mobile quarterbacks are nothing new at Kennedy--Smets and Vazquez are 5-10.

“He’s a dynamite player,” said Coach Bob Francola, who compares Logie to former Cougar quarterback Jeff Newman, now at Hawaii. “He has great speed and a real strong arm. Last week he threw a 50-yard fade for a (touchdown).”

Add Kennedy: After Kennedy held winless Canoga Park to 125 yards last week, Francola says he believes that his defense--which has used as many as five sophomores in the lineup at one time and had surrendered an average of 347 yards a game after four outings--might be turning the corner.

Then again, what lies around the corner might be a problem too. Kennedy’s next three games, in Francola’s words, are against “Cleveland, El Camino and the Rams.”

The Rams, in this case, would be cross-town rival Granada Hills. Kennedy is 0-5-1 since 1983 against the Highlanders.

Changes: Chaminade will feature a new look in two areas in tonight’s game against St. Genevieve. The Eagles will wear new white uniform pants and will employ the shotgun formation. Chaminade Coach Rich Lawson has tired of seeing mishandled snaps, so he is taking a page from his days as a Pierce College assistant.

When quarterback Erik Kramer, now playing in the Canadian Football League, suffered an injured thumb on his left hand in the 1984 season, the Brahmas used the shotgun to protect his hand.

Want ads: Grant basketball Coach Howard Levine is inviting former Grant players to participate in an alumni game Nov. 21. He also is looking for three teams to round out an eight-team field for a junior varsity tournament at Grant on Dec. 26-28.

And Hart is seeking volleyball coaches for its boys’ varsity and junior varsity teams.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Vince Kowalick, John Lynch and Brian Murphy contributed to this notebook.