Cassaday Roughs Up Crespi, 49-7

ENCINO —  Valencia High had no problem getting huge chunks of yardage in its Southern Section Division III quarterfinal against Crespi on Friday night.

The only surprise was that it wasn’t Manuel White doing most of the damage.

With the Crespi defense keying on stopping White, Valencia fullback Ray Cassaday scored four first-half touchdowns as the Vikings cruised to a 49-7 victory at Crespi.

Valencia (9-3) will make its first semifinal appearance against St. Paul next week at a site to be determined.

After recovering a fumble on Crespi’s first possession, Cassaday broke off runs of 24 and 12 yards before scoring on a four-yard dive midway through the first quarter.

“That got me pumped up,” Cassaday said. “Then the coaches just kept giving me the ball.”

Cassaday added touchdowns on a 44-yard run and a six-yard reception before breaking off a 79-yard scamper that gave Valencia a 35-0 lead with less than three minutes left in the first half.

Cassaday finished with 186 yards in 10 carries, 179 coming in the first half.

But he wasn’t the only back to rip through the Celt defense.

Quarterback Brian Hamilton scrambled for 79 yards in 10 carries, most of which came before being slowed by a leg injury in the second quarter.

White, a tailback who came into the game with 1,709 yards rushing, had a slow first half, gaining only 45 yards and fumbling twice.

“We used him as a decoy,” Cassaday said. “[Crespi] was focusing on him but I was still surprised we ran so well. We know they can play defense.”

White rebounded to gain most of his 129 yards in the third quarter, scoring on a 14-yard run.

The Vikings finished with 433 yards rushing, including a five-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Nick Carey midway through the fourth quarter.

Crespi (6-6), which had upset second-seeded Littlerock in the first round, finally scored on a three-yard pass from Robert Muller to Ken Turner with about one minute to play.

The Celts were held to 60 yards rushing in 26 carries. Muller was 12 of 28 for 139 yards and had two passes intercepted.

Kevin Carden caught five passes for 52 yards and Turner caught four for 68 yards.