Football: Birmingham’s Flournoy hoping to have a clean bill of health

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After taking one glance at De’Von Flournoy‘s stats in a season-opening loss to Garfield last week, I figured something had to be wrong with him. There is no way the 6-foot-1 senior receiver from Birmingham would’ve finished with six catches for 113 yards if he was completely healthy.

Turns out he wasn’t at full strength.

Flournoy played against the visiting Bulldogs on a bothersome sprained ankle, an injury he suffered approximately 10 days ago. The USC-bound wideout was subsequently limited during practice Monday and Tuesday, but is expected to test the tender wheel during Wednesday’s workout.

‘Yeah, De’Von was hurt. But he’s on the mend and he’s getting stronger,’’ Patriots Coach Ed Croson said as his team prepared for Friday’s showdown against host Crespi, ranked No. 5 by The Times. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports, so there’s no reason to miss this one.

‘We knew De’Von was at about 60 percent against Garfield,’’ Croson said. ‘When you have one of the best receivers on the West Coast on your team, and he’s injured, chances are that you’re going to be at a disadvantage. We’re hoping he will be ready, close to 100 percent for the big Crespi game.’’

-- Sean Ceglinsky