Pat Yerina

Approximately 12 hours after a 40-point loss to top-ranked Harvard-Westlake, the Crespi High boys' basketball team took the court again Saturday for one last chance to qualify for the Southern Section playoffs. By noon, the Celts were celebrating a 55-46 victory over rival Notre Dame that gave the Mission League's fourth and final playoff spot to Crespi. The teams finished the regular season tied for fourth with 5-7 records, forcing the special 9:30 a.m. game at Crespi.

Dick Dornan planted his lips on the championship plaque, then waved it wildly to the hundreds of Crespi High students, parents, faculty and alumni who came to The Pyramid on Thursday night to watch a historic moment in the school's 42-year history. "I've always dreamed about it," said the fourth-year Crespi coach. "Kissing the trophy meant we've accomplished something special."

The Los Angeles Express will meet the Portland Breakers in a United States Football League exhibition game Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Dr. Bob O'Connor, the school's athletic director, originally contacted the USFL's Denver Gold about training at Pierce. When the Gold decided to train at Cal State Northridge, O'Connor then asked the Express about moving its preseason camp to Pierce.

A smorgasbord of notes, quotes and opinions from across the San Fernando Valley and its surrounding communities: St. Francis High Coach Bill Redell gets my endorsement to be the next football coach at Cal State Northridge, and here's why: He's the only prep coach in region history to guide a team to the Southern Section Division I championship. He manages a $10 million budget as chief executive officer of Bolton Company, a Pasadena insurance firm.

Alemany 1994 OVERALL LEAGUE PLACE 3-20 0-14 8th COACH YR. RECORD AT SCHOOL Robert Webb 2nd TOP RETURNEES POS HT YR Adrian Pantoja F 6-2 Jr. Tim Nelson G 6-1 Jr. TOP NEWCOMERS POS HT YR Mario Thompson G 5-8 Jr. Kris Kuhn G 6-0 Jr. Jesus Castillon F 6-3 So. Gary Nieto G 6-0 So. Delmont Neal G 6-1 So. Byron Patin F 6-2 Jr. OUTLOOK No seniors, no player taller than 6-3 and only three victories a year ago. Could be another long season.

It has been a season in waiting for Marty Wilson. The former basketball standout at Simi Valley High has spent most of his sophomore season at Pepperdine on the bench. Wilson's role will probably be much the same Friday at 2:07 p.m. when the Waves (25-4) play Maryland (18-11) in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at Long Beach Arena. But he hasn't stopped trying.

Who could dispute that the Mission League has been reduced this season to a race for second place? Undoubtedly, the league's--arguably the region's--best basketball team is Harvard-Westlake High. With 6-foot-11 juniors Jason and Jarron Collins leading the way, the Wolverines (29-3 last season) are expected to repeat as league champions, capable of repeating as Southern Section Division III-A champions and hoping to improve on last season's semifinal loss in the State tournament.

Although Lindy James is just a high school senior, she is getting some valuable coaching experience. James, a two-time all-Southern Section guard playing for the Village Christian girls' basketball team, is the leader of a very young squad. Three freshmen and a sophomore have either started or seen significant playing time for the Crusaders this season. "They worship the ground she walks on," Crusader Coach John Domke said of the younger players. Last season the Crusaders were 21-5.

Desmond Willows is the boys' soccer coach at Chatsworth High but it was his experience as a cross-country runner that recently served him best in his second job as a campus security monitor. While patrolling the school grounds one morning, Willows heard a report on his walkie-talkie about a robbery at knifepoint that had been committed nearby. Willows spotted the suspected teen-age thief on the run.