Crespi Sputters Against Canyon Springs

MORENO VALLEY — There were no come-from-behind heroics for Crespi High this week.

It started badly--and stayed that way for 48 minutes.

Crespi managed just three first downs in the first half and never got on track, suffering a 38-15 setback to Canyon Springs in a nonleague game Friday at Valley View High.

Canyon Springs (1-1), ranked No. 20 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, amassed 248 yards in the first half to fuel a 20-7 lead.

Meanwhile, Crespi (1-1), which overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat Taft, 20-19, last week, sputtered throughout.

Terrelle Smith rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns for Canyon Springs.

Trailing, 20-0, late in the first half, Crespi appeared to turn its fortunes around when Mark Stipkovich recovered a fumble and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown.

But Crespi couldn’t mount an offense after intermission. Only a 21-yard touchdown pass from Dave Lins to Wayne Emerson in the final minute kept the Crespi offense from being shut out.

One week after throwing for more than 200 yards, Lins completed only nine of 18 passes for 108 yards.