Crespi Can’t Get Near Fargas in 28-25 Setback

Notre Dame High scored a first, three consecutive victories over Crespi with a 28-25 nonleague victory Friday night at Pierce College.

For the Knights (3-1), who lost to Beverly Hills last week to suffer their first regular-season defeat in almost two years, losing hasn’t come often in recent years.

Neither has beating Crespi during the 22-year rivalry between the prominent Valley parochial schools.

The victory was only Notre Dame’s eighth over the Celts but third in as many years.

The Knights put away the game with a 17-play drive that began at their own three-yard line in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter and stalled at the Crespi 40 with 2 minutes 15 seconds left on the clock.

After a punt, Crespi started at its 16 but quarterback Nick Rita, scrambling away from a strong rush, had his pass intercepted by David Escobar at the 30 with 1:25 to play.

“It’s a huge, huge win,” said Notre Dame quarterback Jorge Piedra.

“It’s been a great rivalry for years and years. We were really intense.”

Piedra completed 10 of 18 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and his improvised running kept Crespi (2-2) off-balance--particularly during the fourth-quarter march.

Junior tailback Justin Fargas again was the Knights’ offensive leader, rushing for 215 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries.

Fargas also caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Piedra late in the first half to give Notre Dame a 28-18 halftime lead and a much-needed cushion in what had been a seesaw game.

Crespi grabbed an early lead and stayed close in the first half, thanks to the combination of Rita and split end Alex Kropach.

Rita, who completed 12 of 19 for 248 yards, found Kropach for a 70-yard pass play on the Celts’ first possession for a 7-0 lead.

Notre Dame countered with an 82-yard march in which Fargas did most of the work. Piedra capped the drive with a 37-yard touchdown pass play to Adam Boyd to pull the Knights’ even.

Crespi assumed the lead for the last time on a 33-yard field goal by Dennis Fox after a lengthy march stalled.

From there, Fargas took over.

On the first play following the kickoff, Fargas dashed 75 yards for a touchdown, cutting back against the grain at midfield to give Notre Dame a 14-10 lead late in the first quarter.

Fargas found daylight again on Notre Dame’s next drive, running 47 yards for a touchdown and a 21-10 Notre Dame lead.

Rita kept Crespi in the game by finding Kropach again for a 77-yard touchdown play. Rita then ran for the two-point conversion to pull the Celts to within 21-18.

After the teams traded interceptions on consecutive plays, Notre Dame began a drive at the Crespi 36 in the final two minutes of the half. Piedra capped the march by lofting a 14-yard scoring pass to Fargas to give Notre Dame a 28-18 halftime lead.