Chase Curren looks every bit like a 15-year-old. He has braces on his teeth, blond hair cut in the middle and hints on his chin that he might one day need to shave. Its his youthful appearance combined with his talent as a sophomore quarterback that has Crespi High football fans excited about a revival in a program that went 0-10 just three years ago.
Brad Vonnahme, hired as a 34-year-old quality control assistant from Fresno State in 2022, has been given the task of rebuilding the program. The team went 2-8 in 2023, 5-6 last season and is 7-0 this season after a 49-7 win over La Salle on Friday night.
With former Crespi and Oregon quarterback Bryan Bennett tutoring Curren, the future looks bright. Curren threw three touchdown passes and scored a touchdown on Friday, giving him 21 TD passes on the season. The Celts had five sacks, including two each from Grant Woods and Somto Nwude.
It was 40 years ago in 1985 when a freshman running back named Russell White enrolled at Crespi and changed the fortunes of the football program. By 1986, the Celts were winning the Big Five Conference championship by beating St. John Bosco in the final at Angel Stadium. White, a sophomore, rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns against the Braves.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Curren could be the Celts next program-changing teenager, attracting others who want to catch passes, provide protection as a blocker and gain exposure playing with a quarterback whose aspirations are to make the NFL.
Curren lives in Manhattan Beach and made the decision to make the trip to Encino because of the coaching staff. I like the environment and energy and some youth kids from my eighth-grade team also came. I like it here. Its comfortable.”
He was the JV quarterback as a freshman, so he got to develop away from the pressures of social media expectations.
You always want to strive to be that guy on varsity, but I felt it was good for me to take a year to develop and learn the system better and get more comfortable, he said. I feel ready. I like the pressure that comes with being the starting quarterback. On JV, there wasnt as many people with eyes on you. Right now theres higher stakes, especially because were winning.
Curren surprised some by running 86 yards for a touchdown last week against St. Anthony.
It was a read option, counter play, and I just pulled it, he said. I was pretty tired when I got back. Im not a run-first quarterback, so it was a little different for me.
Last summer, he and his father drove to Fresno and received private instruction for an hour or two from a true quarterback whisperer, Jeff Tedford, the coach of Aaron Rodgers at Cal. He worked on mechanics and his step to get more power on his throws. Jeff feels he can make the throws, said Crespi president Ken Foersch, who played for Tedford at Fresno State.
Said Curren: “It was a great experience. He has a lot of wisdom and knowledge to share.”
The program is slowly adding talent. The JV program, under former Loyola High and Cal State Northridge coach Jeff Kearin, is 16-0 the last two seasons. Freshman Antonio Glasby had a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown on Friday against La Salle. Sophomores Stephen Nunez and Marcus Daley had touchdown catches. Sophomore Oliver White returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown.
Theres different ways to rebuild. You can take short cuts by bringing in transfers and hiring questionable assistants who try to use their connections to gain new players. Or you can slowly change the culture and develop players within the program with the hope positive reviews will inspire others to join.
This is the dilemma for private schools that have had success in the past but are unlikely to return to the highest level because changes have taken place. Will the alumni be satisfied with winning titles in Division 10, 9 or 8 after previous glory years in higher divisions? Bishop Montgomery showed what can happen when you try to become a power overnight, taking in 24 transfers and then having to cancel its varsity season when transfers were declared ineligible for providing false information.
On Friday, Crespi honored its 2005 Division X championship team coached by Jeremiah Ross, who succeeded Troy Thomas, the coach of the 2004 Division X championship team. The Celts are trying to regain that potential and have a showdown game next week for the Del Rey League championship against Salesian.
Curren is just focused on continuing to improve every week.
Never being complacent where were at, he said. We need to stay humble, keep working, keep climbing the ladder and getting better every week and proving we can play against some of the better teams we previously couldnt do.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.