On a Technicolor Night, It’s White Over Brown : Crespi Edges Servite, 45-38, as Running Backs Total 470 Yards, 7 Touchdowns

The game wasn’t decided until the final 10 seconds, but Crespi High School’s 45-38 victory over Servite in Friday night’s Big Five Conference quarterfinal game at Glover Stadium came down to what most people thought it would.

A Brown and White issue.

Crespi’s Russell White, arguably the best running back in the state, and Servite’s Derek Brown, who proved not to be very far behind, ran wild in the game.

Together they combined for 470 yards rushing and scored seven touchdowns.

White, who rushed for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns in 33 carries, scored two touchdowns to lead the 19-point fourth quarter surge that gave Crespi (10-1-1) the game.

Crespi, defending Big Five champion, took the lead with 4:47 remaining when quarterback Ron Redell ran in from seven yards out. The conversion kick put Crespi ahead, 39-38.

Earlier in the quarter, White had scored on a 47-yard run to give Crespi a 32-31 lead with 10:47 left in the game.

Less than a minute later, Brown answered with a 46-yard touchdown run of his own.

However, Brown, who rushed for 217 yards and 4 touchdowns in 22 carries, lost a fumble at the Servite 19 with 4:11 left in the game.

Six plays later, White scored on a five-yard run. The kick failed, however, and Servite was within a touchdown and a conversion at 45-38.

Servite (8-3-1) came back by driving from its own 33 to the Crespi 25 in less than a minute. Quarterback Jason Frank completed four straight passes in that span.

But the drive stalled, and when Frank’s pass to Jason Rees was incomplete on a fourth down, Crespi had the ball and the victory with 10 seconds remaining.

Overall, Frank completed 8 of 12 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Of course, those among the 7,000 who really didn’t care about the outcome, coming simply to see Brown and White, weren’t disappointed.

Highlights included White’s 54-yard run after a reception for a touchdown. White also had a 47-yard run for a touchdown.

Brown also did some long distance running, scoring on runs of 39, 53 and 46 yards.

Servite took an early lead on Pat Blottiaux’s 35-yard field goal.

Redell scored on a two-yard sneak with 32 seconds left in the first quarter to give Crespi a 6-3 lead after the conversion kick failed.

Right back came Servite, which scored on a seven-yard pass from Frank to Rees with 9:25 left in the half.

Servite seemed to pad its lead when Brown scored on a nine-yard less than a minute later after a Crespi turnover. Servite led 17-6 at that point.

But White knocked the stuffing out of the lead when he took a pass in the flat and sprinted 54 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The score, and the two-point conversion, cut Servite’s lead to 17-14.

Brown’s 39-yard scoring run came with 4:08 left in the first half, and capped a 21-point second quarter for Servite.

At that point, Servite led 24-14.

But Crespi put together a drive late in the quarter and scored with just three seconds remaining on Bill Gould’s 30-yard field goal.