Crespi Relying on Battered Quarterback in 1st-Round Game; Buena to Face El Toro

Crespi High and its battle-worn quarterback, junior Cody Smith, will take on Leuzinger at 7:30 tonight in a Southern Section Division III playoff game at Pierce College

Buena (5-5), the second-place team in the Channel League, will play host to El Toro (9-1), the second-place representative from the South Coast League, at 7:30 p.m. at Larrabee Stadium in another first-round matchup.

Smith, who led Crespi to an 8-2 record and a second-place finish in the Mission League, will wear a flak jacket for the second game in a row to protect a bruised kidney and bruised ribs. He has completed 61.9% of his passes for 1,694 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Wide receiver Ryan Kieling (52 catches, 769 yards, nine touchdowns) has been Smith’s primary target, but Kieling also is expected to play at tailback. Torie Lee (158 carries, 670 yards, four touchdowns) and Joe Ruggiero (65 carries, 272 yards, two touchdowns) also will carry the ball.

Leuzinger (7-3), the co-champion of the Bay League, is led by running backs Marvin Johnson (142 carries, 803 yards) and B-Jon Sample (76 carries, 515 yards), who have scored 17 touchdowns.

Buena has rebounded from three consecutive losses to clinch a playoff berth behind the running of George Keiaho, who needs 12 yards to become the first freshman in Southern Section history to run for 1,000 yards.

Teammate Chuck Mullaney has rushed for 610 yards.