ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : It’s Him Again: Russell White Gains 195 Yards and Scores Twice in 9 Carries

OK, OK. Russell White again. But he keeps earning it.

This week marks the third time the Crespi sophomore tailback has been named Athlete of the Week. He has also run a close second a few other times.

“It’s still kind of special,” he said. “But to get all this publicity as a sophomore, and it’s happening so much, it’s getting a little repetitious.”

Last Friday in a first-round playoff game against defending Big Five Conference co-champion Edison, White gained 195 yards and scored two touchdowns. On nine carries.

Only 11 games into his first varsity season, he already has shattered Crespi’s season records for rushing yards and touchdowns and been named the Del Rey League’s most valuable back.

Going into this week’s quarterfinal game against Colton, White has 1,801 yards and 24 touchdowns on only 140 carries.

Only once has he been held under 100 yards. He had 97 against Loyola after losing three yards on his final carry.

“And the thing a lot of people don’t realize,” said Crespi Coach Bill Redell, who routinely removes White from games early in the third quarter, “is that he has only played about half the time.”

Last week, White scored on an 80-yard run on the game’s first play. He had 108 yards on eight carries before he injured his ankle with two minutes left in the first half.

He didn’t play again until the final four minutes of the game. On his first--and only--play back in the lineup, he scored on an 87-yard run.

“I wouldn’t trade him for any high school running back in the United States,” Redell said. “In fact, I wouldn’t trade him for any two backs in the country.”