PREP FOOTBALL : Servite Comes Back to Beat Taft

After Taft High School battled heavily favored Servite to a scoreless tie at the half, Servite roared back with 21 third-quarter points to win, 35-7, in an intersectional game Friday at Taft.

“That was a helluva first half by us,” Taft Coach Tom Stevenson said, “but that was a helluva third quarter by them.”

Servite tailback Derek Brown, held to 58 yards in the first half, rumbled for 109 in the third quarter alone and finished with 185 yards in 22 carries. He scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards to lead the third-quarter barrage.

The difference in Servite’s level of intensity was immediately discernible.

“That was a big, big difference,” Brown said. “I guess we underestimated them. I put it together--rather, we put it together--in the second half. They knocked me down, but not out.”

Servite gained 171 yards in the first half, but couldn’t find the end zone. In the second half, however, Taft went down and was counted out in a matter of seconds.

Behind Brown, Servite took the second-half kickoff and moved 70 yards in five plays. The impressive drive included runs of 36 and 14 yards by Brown, who gave Servite a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run with 10:07 left in the quarter.

Taft quarterback Rich Cosentino, who was chased all over the field by the Servite defense and completed only 5 of 22 passes for 69 yards, had a pass intercepted by Brad Williams at the Taft 36. Six plays later, Brown scored from 4 yards to give the Friars (3-0) a 14-0 lead.

Cosentino again connected with a Servite defensive back on his next throw, and this time, it blew the game wide open. Attempting to find a receiver in the right flat, the ball was intercepted by Oscar Ford, who cruised 36 yards down the sideline for a 21-0 lead with 5:07 left in the quarter.

“We made some adjustments and went to the weak side in the second half,” Servite Coach Jerry Person said. “Derek started to run and the line started to block, and that was it.”