Southern Section Football Playoffs : DIVISION I : White Edges Brown, but Servite Whips Crespi, 41-21

Crespi High School’s All-American tailback Russell White said this week that his performance against Servite and running back Derek Brown would, in essence, separate the imitator from the originator.

If Friday night’s Southern Section Division I quarterfinal playoff game is White’s answer, then Brown will take his chances with patent infringement, plagiarism or any other charge Crespi wants to throw at him.

White won the Battle of the Backs, Part III, with 162 yards to Brown’s 130, but Servite won the game, 41-21, at L.A. Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

Servite scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to turn a tight game into a runaway, but for 3 1/2 quarters, it was as tight as Servite Coach Jerry Person could stand.

“Russell White is a good back,” Person said, “and he got his yards tonight. But we rose to the occasion when we had to.”

Servite’s defense, actually, was smelling anything but rosy until a third-quarter stand. Crespi, which trailed, 20-7 at the half, had moved to within 20-14 on a 14-yard run by White with 8:09 left in the third quarter. Servite fired blanks on its next possession, and Crespi took over after the punt at its 20.

The Celts (6-6) gained 9 yards in 2 plays, but White was stopped at the 29--a yard short of the first down--on third down. Crespi Coach Bill Redell elected to go for the first down with 3:24 left in the quarter, but White was again drilled by a Friar defensive surge on the right side of the line.

Nine plays later, Servite quarterback Chris Johnson faked a handoff to Brown and scooted around left end on a perfect bootleg to give the Friars a 27-14 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.

“That was probably a key play in the game,” Person said. “No, that was the key play of the game. If it goes their way, its a totally different game, a whole different story.”

The scripting worked out fine for the Friars, who scored two more touchdowns in the quarter to put Crespi away. To cap a night of frustration, White--who needed 164 yards to reach the 6,000-yard career mark--was stopped for no gain on his second-to-last carry and fumbled on the final carry of his record-breaking career, 2 yards shy of the 6,000 mark.

For Crespi, individual attention granted White was more than a little symbolic. Where Crespi needed a huge performance from White--who scored 3 times to give him 568 career points and 94 touchdowns, expanding his pre-existing state records in both--Servite battered the Celts with balance.

“It’s more than just me,” Brown said. “It’s the whole team. Now if we keep the teamwork thing going, we could win the whole thing.”

For Servite, five different players scored.

There were highlights for the halfback watchers, however.

After Crespi took a 7-0 lead on an 11-yard run by White, Servite waited about 15 seconds to counter. Or rather, Brown did.

Brown fielded the kickoff at the 7, darted up the middle and cut down the left sideline for a 93-yard return and a 7-7 tie with 7 minutes left in the quarter.

“If they came for head to head, they saw it right there,” Person said.