Loyola Shuts Off Crespi at the Pass, 21-7

On a night when it was tough enough keeping warm, Loyola High cooled off Crespi’s red-hot passing attack by controlling the clock in a 21-7 Del Rey League victory Friday night at Pierce College.

Behind a workhorse performance by junior tailback Mike Vanis, the Cubs kept the ball on the ground and the Celts’ offense on the sidelines.

Vanis rushed for a game-high 156 yards in 35 carries--25 in the second half--and scored two touchdowns.

The victory pulled Loyola (7-2, 3-2 in league play) into a second-place tie with Crespi (5-5, 3-2). But with the victory--the Cubs’ eighth in a row over Crespi--Loyola earned the league’s No. 2 playoff berth behind Bishop Amat. Crespi also qualified for the playoffs as the league’s third-place team.

“I don’t know when we’ve had a guy run 35 times,” Loyola Coach Steve Grady said. “But we thought that if we could run the ball and chew up the clock, that would keep their explosive offense off the field. Our offensive line did a tremendous job.”

Crespi quarterback Dave Lins, who entered the game third among area passing leaders with 1,732 yards, finished with 18 completions in 36 attempts for 151 yards and a touchdown. However, Lins was limited to only three series in the second half, two of which did not yield first downs and ended with interceptions. Lins threw only 10 passes in the second half.

Vanis spearheaded second-half drives of 13 and 17 plays by Loyola. The 5-foot-10, 174-pounder, who logged as many as seven consecutive carries, capped the second march of 80 yards with a three-yard touchdown run.

Vanis also scored on a three-yard sweep with 16 seconds left in the first half to give Loyola a 14-7 lead.

“He sure was slippery tonight,” Crespi Coach Tim Lins said. “We had a heck of a time tackling him.”

Crespi demonstrated some ball control of its own on the game’s opening march, driving from its 20 to the Cubs’ 20 in 12 plays. However, the drive went for naught when Greg Boskin’s 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Three plays later, Loyola took a 6-0 lead on a 69-yard touchdown pass play from Kyle Spielbuehler to Mark McDonald. The extra-point attempt was blocked. Spielbuehler finished eight of 16 for 192 yards.

Crespi marched 45 yards in eight plays to take a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter on Lins’ 23-yard pass to Marcos Solorzano, who had nine receptions for 90 yards.