Vanis, Loyola Put Crespi on Ice with 21-7 Victory

On a night when it was tough enough keeping warm, Loyola High cooled off Crespi’s passing attack by controlling the clock and the game 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 en route to extending a 14-7 halftime lead.

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

The win pulled Loyola (7-2, 3-2 in league play) into a second-place tie with Crespi (5-5, 3-2) and gave Loyola the league’s No. 2 berth in the Southern Section playoffs behind Bishop Amat.

“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 tonight.”

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

Vanis spearheaded second-half drives of 13 and 17 plays. Vanis capped the second march of 80 yards with a three-yard touchdown run. Crespi seemed to have a secure 7-6 lead with 1:15 left in the first half after a punt pinned Loyola at its 15-yard line. But quarterback Kyle Spielbuehler engineered an 85-yard touchdown drive that culminated with Vanis’ three-yard touchdown run.

Spielbuehler finished with eight completions in 16 attempts for 192 yards.