Crespi High tight end Alex Pupich has...

Crespi High tight end Alex Pupich has become a loose end for Mission League defenses. Nobody seems capable of tying him up.

Pupich has developed a penchant for the big play. Two weeks ago against Chaminade, he rumbled 45 yards on a pass from Cody Smith with 1 minute 2 seconds remaining. Crespi scored moments later to win, 21-17.

In last week’s 31-18 victory over Alemany, Pupich caught four passes for 169 yards. He scored on receptions of 72, 24 and 64 yards. On the touchdowns of 72 and 24 yards, Pupich broke through man-to-man coverage. On the 64-yard play, he found a hole in Alemany’s zone defense.

Both sidelines were equally surprised.

“The first two were just ball-control plays,” Crespi Coach Tim Lins said. “You expect eight to 10 yards. You don’t expect your tight end to go 70 yards.”

At Crespi, where tight ends have a history of going on to play at NCAA Division I colleges, maybe they should expect big plays. Crespi tight ends over the past six seasons include Sean Howard (UCLA), John Carpenter (Stanford), Christian Fauria (Colorado) and Frank Romano (Northern Arizona).

This season, Pupich has caught 20 passes for 457 yards, an average of 22.9 yards. Only Mike Wright of Glendale (23.9 yards) and Dave Romines of Simi Valley (23.1) are averaging more per reception among Southern Section players in the region.

Like many of his predecessors, however, Pupich might be more effective at another position he plays. As a defensive end, Pupich (6-foot-4, 192) has been named the Celts’ player of the week four times.

Streaks: Kennedy’s victory over San Fernando last week marked the first time since 1982 that the Golden Cougars have beaten San Fernando and Granada Hills in the same year. The 1982 season, strangely enough, was hardly a watershed campaign for Kennedy; the Golden Cougars finished 5-5. . . . With its eight victories, Royal has equaled the school single-season record set in 1983 and matched last season.

Offense: For all the talk surrounding Antelope Valley’s Freddie Edwards and Quartz Hill’s Erik Thomas, neither is the Golden League’s rushing leader. Instead, 5-foot-7, 143-pound sophomore Ed Williams of Canyon leads all backs in the league with 990 yards and 13 touchdowns. That tops Thomas’ total of 925 yards and 10 touchdowns and Edwards’ total of 924 yards and 12 touchdowns. . . .

Hart has six players in double figures in the receiving category. Tailback Deriek Charles leads regional players with 52 catches and 12 touchdowns (for 610 yards). Behind him are teammates Doug Distaso (35 catches, 594 yards, one touchdown), Aron Miyata (33 catches, 355 yards, two touchdowns), Ted Kiester (22 catches, 395 yards, three touchdowns, Jared Halverson (20 catches, 210 yards and two touchdowns) and Davis Delmatoff (15 catches, 283 yards). . . .

There is no catching Nacho Vega of Nordhoff when it comes to Frontier League running backs. Vega has 829 yards rushing through eight games; the league’s second-leading rusher is Santa Clara’s Scottie Tripp, who has 493 yards. . . .

The rushing total listed in Sunday’s edition shorted Montclair Prep junior tailback Eliel Swinton. In seven games, Swinton has 1,277 yards in 119 carries, leaving him just 17 yards behind Oak Park’s Tarik Smith (1,294 yards) for the top perch in the region. Swinton’s average of 10.7 yards a carry, however, is the best among all rushers in the region. . . .

Simi Valley junior quarterback Eric Bennett set a school single-game record with 309 passing yards in a 21-14 win over Channel Islands on Friday. Bennett also has set single-season passing records for yardage (1,753), attempts (258), completions (121) and touchdowns (16). . . .

Royal senior quarterback Ryan Fien threw three touchdown passes in the Highlanders’ 33-0 win over Agoura on Friday, bringing his career Marmonte League total to 48 and breaking former Westlake quarterback Todd Preston’s record of 45. The Ventura County record of 52 is held by former Santa Clara quarterback Tim Gutierrez. . . .

Simi Valley senior wide receiver Dave Romines has set a school single-season reception yardage record with 785. He needs seven receptions to eclipse Brian Balleweg’s 1990 school single-season record of 41. . . .

Burbank junior Steve Brenes ran for 120 yards Friday night against Burroughs, the Bulldogs’ first 100-plus rushing performance of the season.

Defense: Quartz Hill’s defensive line of Ralph Gutierrez, Randy LaBrie and Gary Armstrong has keyed a Rebel defense that has allowed just 89.6 yards rushing per game. Armstrong, who has missed the past two weeks because of ligament damage in his right knee, is expected to return for Friday’s game against Palmdale. . . .

Reseda linebacker Ricky Ray had 12 solo tackles, assisted on six others and recovered a fumble in the team’s 45-14 victory over Cleveland. . . .

Canoga Park has allowed 729 rushing yards and 729 passing yards. . . . Glendale recorded seven sacks against Pasadena on Saturday to boost the team’s total to 34.

Miscellaneous: Highland kicker Russell Gordon has converted 37 of 42 point-after attempts.

Regional Football

Top 10 Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Lst. Rk Wk Team League Record 1 2 Royal Marmonte 8-0 2 1 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 7-1 3 4 Ventura Channel 7-1 4 5 Kennedy West Valley 7-1 5 3 San Fernando West Valley 7-1 6 7 Glendale Pacific 7-1 7 NR Antelope Valley Golden 5-3 8 9 Crespi Mission 6-2 9 6 Buena Channel 6-2 10 NR Sylmar East Valley 6-1

NR--Not ranked