Prep Review : Servite and Brown Both Emerge Winners

Sure, Derek Brown of Servite won the battle of the top running backs in the Southern Section, outgaining rival Russell White of Crespi, 312 yards to 81, Saturday night.

But more important to Servite was that the Friars rolled to a 35-20 victory over Crespi for their fourth consecutive victory this season.

And that’s especially pleasing to Jerry Person, in his first season as Servite coach.

“I’m very pleased with the way things are going,” Person said. “Wouldn’t you be? We’ve had a couple of good tests. We played a good team (Saturday). That win . . . gives us a shot in the arm.”

Beating Crespi became a No. 1 priority this season after the Celts defeated the Friars, 45-28, in the second round of the Big Five playoffs last year.

“We should have won that game,” said Person, who was the sophomore coach at Servite last season. “Winning this game was a big thing around here. There was a revenge factor. We had to prove to ourselves that we could beat Crespi and stop Russell White.”

Stopping White went a long way in helping Servite (4-0) win. Defense, Person said, was the key.

Servite swarmed White at every turn, holding him under 100 yards for only the fifth time in his career.

“(Garrett) Greedy and (Brad) Williams and (Oscar) Ford . . . they were all up in his face,” Person said. “You name (the defenders) and they were all there. It was a team deal. A real team effort.”

Grudge Match: A year ago, Bolsa Grande was the talk of the Garden Grove League. And not all of it was flattering. The Matadors swept through the opposition, winning by lopsided scores such as 41-0, 51-6 and 48-0.

But Bolsa Grande lost most of its offense to graduation, including quarterback Damon Fisher, who is now at Long Beach City College.

Saturday night in the Garden Grove League opener for both teams, Kennedy didn’t forget its 48-0 loss to Bolsa Grande last season.

Mitch Olson, Kennedy’s coach, said he motivated his players by writing the score on a chalkboard in the Fighting Irish locker room, leaving it up there all week as a reminder.

However, Bolsa Grande led, 12-7, at halftime and Olson was mad.

“After the first half (Saturday night), I was thinking a lot of the guys must have forgot about last year,” he said.

In the second half, Kennedy scored 22 unanswered points to win, 29-12.

Add rivals: Ron LaRuffa has accepted the varsity baseball coaching postion at Fountain Valley.

For 13 seasons, La Ruffa was the coach at Edison before he left last season to become the pitching coach at Rancho Santiago College. LaRuffa had been coaching the girls’ tennis team this season.

LaRuffa said he missed coaching at the high school level and also missed the Sunset League competition, which was one of the reasons he was coaching tennis.

Phil the Foot: Pat Blottiaux, Servite’s kicker last season, set an Orange County record with a 56-yard field goal in 1987. But Phil Nevin of El Dorado is closing in on that mark.

Friday night in a 39-21 victory over Fullerton, Nevin just missed a 57-yard try late in the game. Nevin, a senior who also is the Golden Hawks’ backup quarterback, left it just short and to the left. He made a 44-yarder late in the game with at least 10 yards to spare.

Carl Sweet, El Dorado coach, has shown a great deal of confidence in Nevin this season. In the season opener against La Quinta, for instance, Sweet trotted Nevin out for a 68-yard try.

After a fair catch of a La Quinta punt late in the first half, Nevin attempted a free kick with the ball at the El Dorado 42-yard field. Unlike a regular field goal formation, where the ball is kicked about 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage, a free kick is taken in kickoff formation using the kickoff tee.

Nevin came close, but his try was about 5 feet too short.

Quick Hits:

Bye Bye--The words were spotted on the back of the shoes of Nate Hosea, a senior wide receiver and defense back at Santiago. Alas, Hosea had little chance to show his heels in Thursday night’s 20-14 loss to Pacifica. Hosea caught 1 pass for 12 yards.

Bye Bye II--Tanya Brix, a freshman cross-country runner at University, covered the 3-mile course at the Costa Mesa Invitational in 17 minutes 32.6 seconds, the fastest girls’ time of the day. Brix was running in only her fourth high school race.

Bye Bye III--David Lowery, Trabuco Hills’ senior quarterback, passed for 249 yards in the Mustangs’ 47-3 victory over San Clemente Saturday. The total boosts Lowery’s county-leading passing yardage to 963 yards. He leads Fountain Valley’s David Henigan by 120 yards. Lowery also has thrown for 8 touchdowns.

Record Department: Two Orange football players set single-game school records in Friday night’s victory over Villa Park.

Quarterback Scott McMahon had 268 total yards (216 passing, 52 rushing) breaking Mike Churchward’s record of 266 set in 1970.

Wide receiver Eric McKay caught 6 passes for 137 yards, breaking Dan Slattery’s record of 130 yards, also set in 1970.