Football: Crespi proposes seven-team league

Like a mystery novel with lots of plots, twists and turns, the Catholic Athletic Assn. is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and try to hammer out new leagues for football, and one of the newest proposals from Crespi has a seven-team Serra League made up of the Celts, Cathedral, Harvard-Westlake, La Salle, Salesian, St. Francis and St. Paul.

Crespi has been a Pac-5 team and made the Pac-5 playoffs last season, but the program is down to 65 players, and schools officials have joined St. Francis in promoting their proposal.

The CAA has been forced to meet again because Salesian won an appeal to throw out a previously passed proposal that would have had Salesian in a league with Bishop Amat, Loyola and Gardena Serra.

Since there is no eighth team volunteering to join what will likely be a Pac-5 League, Crespi and St. Francis seemed to have joined forces trying to have their seven-team league along with a Mission League made up of Alemany, Bishop Amat, Chaminade, Serra, Loyola and Notre Dame. There also could be relief after two years, with a school moving up or down.

Whether there is enough support for the proposal remains to be seen. Adding to the intrigue is that several principals and athletic directors from the CAA are expected to miss the meeting, because it’s spring break for many Catholic schools. A representative from their school will be present.

The CAA has to submit a proposal to the Southern Section by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. It can always re-submit its earlier proposal, but schools can appeal at the Southern Section Council meeting on April 30.

Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com