Smith, Vanis Help Loyola Win, 21-0

The Loyola-Crespi football rivalry is only 17 years old, but it has been a good one.

Over the past few seasons, the two have regularly played for the Del Rey League title. However, during the past off-season, the two Catholic schools were split, Loyola moving to the Angelus League and Crespi to the Mission League.

They met in a nonleague game Friday night before a near-capacity crowd at Pierce College, but about the only thing it did for Crespi was make the Celts perhaps a little grateful that they no longer have to deal with the Cubs with a playoff berth at stake.

The Cubs, the Times’ fifth-ranked Southern Section team, blanked the Celts, 21-0.

“That’s as good as we’ve played all year,” Cub Coach Steve Grady said. “I had my doubts going in.”

He shouldn’t have.

Loyola totaled up 317 total yards and dominated throughout.

The Celts (3-1), who have had top runners such as Russell White and Leonice Brown, ran the ball only 14 times for 31 yards.

Loyola used a balanced attack, paced by the passing of Corby Smith and the running of Matt Vanis.

Smith, a senior and the son of USC Coach Larry Smith, completed 11 of 16 passes for 124 yards, and Vanis gained 105 yards in 24 carries and scored a pair of first-half touchdowns.

Smith, who also scrambled for 24 yards in five carries, scored the Cubs’ final touchdown, a one-yard sneak on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Crespi’s Cody Smith completed 14 of 26 passes for 115 yards, but much of it came in the fourth quarter with the game already well in Loyola’s hands.

Crespi’s inconsistent offense figured to have trouble against the Cub defense. The surprise came when Loyola had the ball.

The Celts had yielded only 23 total points in impressive wins over highly-touted Kahuku of Hawaii, Redlands and Hart.

“They just dominated us,” Crespi Coach Tim Lins said. “They were very well prepared and beat us going away.”

After getting a quick taste of the Cubs in the first half, the Celts were perhaps relieved that they no longer had to deal with them as a league foe.

Perhaps it also made Grady yearn for yesteryear.

“I liked the Del Rey League,” he said. “And we’ve got a good rivalry going. The last five or six years, it’s been us or them.”

Usually, it has been Loyola. With the victory, the Cubs improved the series edge to 14-3.