This Test Prepares Players for College

Before they became engrossed in the emotion and intensity of the USC-UCLA football rivalry, Chris Sailer, Shaun Williams and Troy Garner received plenty of preparation and training.

They played in the Notre Dame-Crespi football series.

“It just seems like it’s always the biggest game of the year, and there’s always an extra spark in everyone’s eyes before the game,” said Sailer, a kicker and punter at UCLA and All-American for Notre Dame in 1994. “No matter whose team is better, it’s going to be a war to the end.”

Sailer is hoping a Notre Dame victory tonight against the Celts in Sherman Oaks will give him bragging rights over UCLA teammate Williams, a defensive back who played for Crespi.

“It was always exciting to play in that game,” Williams said.

Former Notre Dame receiver Garner, a USC freshman, said beating the Celts was a top priority.

“No matter who’s ranked higher or who’s better, it’s going to be a tough game,” he said. “You’re pumped throughout the game. You want to beat them as bad as you can. You can’t wait to play against Crespi. It’s the game of the season. You got to do anything you can to win.”

When the most visible private Catholic high schools in the Valley meet in football, alumni pay close attention. And now that they’ve left high school and don’t have to worry about angering their coach, they’re willing and ready to sound off.

Take ex-Crespi and UCLA lineman Randy Cross, now an announcer for NBC. He graduated from Crespi in 1972, the year before the rivalry with Notre Dame began.

“I would have loved to play them,” Cross said. “They wouldn’t play us back then. They were chicken.”

Then there’s ex-Crespi and UCLA lineman John Kidder, now an assistant coach at Westlake. He has matured a little since his high school days in the early 1980s. “They’d come paint our bus and we’d go fill up their pool with jello,” Kidder recalled.

Now that Kidder is a salesman for a helmet manufacturer and has Notre Dame coach Kevin Rooney as a client, he’s trying to be diplomatic about the game tonight.

“I hope it’s a tie,” Kidder said.

“No I don’t,” he added.

Crespi (3-0) is considered a heavy underdog against the top-ranked, Justin Fargas-led Knights, but Seattle Seahawks tight end Christian Fauria (Crespi ‘90) finds comfort in the underdog status.

“You’ve got nothing to lose,” Fauria said. “I think it’s great. Those gutty Celts can play with anybody.”