White’s 233 Yards Lead Crespi, 43-7

Late in the first quarter Friday night, Russell White, Crespi’s talented sophomore tailback, ran right and was swept under by a crowd of Alemany tacklers.

Up to that point, White had been “held” to 54 yards on 7 carries, well below his 15 yards-per-carry average. As the sophomore tailback walked back to the huddle, he pointed a finger at the Alemany defenders.

“You’re not hurting me,” he said. “I’m still running.”

Indeed, White went on to finish with 233 yards and 3 touchdowns--two on dashes of more than 70 yards--as Crespi ran away from Alemany, 43-7. The win at home kept Crespi unbeaten at 7-0, 2-0 in the Del Rey League. It also sends a confident Crespi team to face perennial Del Rey power Loyola next week.

White has gained 1,216 yards in seven games to break the school single-season rushing record.

Alemany, which entered the game with only one win, had to play without starting quarterback Nick Napolitan, who bruised the wrist on his throwing arm last week against Loyola.

Backup Joe Dabovich completed 14 of 26 passes for 113 yards and his team’s only touchdown. But the junior quarterback also threw three interceptions and represented Alemany’s only real threat. It wasn’t enough.

Crespi scored on three of its first four possessions of the game. The third touchdown came on a 77-yard run by White that seemed to break Alemany’s spirit.

“Their players were talking madness, that they were going to stop me,” White said. “It was just talk.”

Later, with time running out in the half, Crespi’s John Goetz recovered a fumbled punt at the Alemany 32. Six plays later, Crespi quarterback Robert O’Byrne bootlegged seven yards for the score. Crespi led at halftime, 29-0.

White finished Crespi’s scoring with a 73-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Alemany (1-6, 0-2 in league) scored with five minutes left in the game. Dabovich capped an 8-play, 59-yard drive by hitting Sean Dwyer with a 9-yard touchdown pass.