CONCORD – After going toe-to-toe with state power De La Salle for a little more than a half, a costly turnover began a nightmarish final 17 minutes for visiting Servite in a 47-24 loss Saturday.
The Friars trailed, 27-17, with 5:15 left in the third quarter, when Travis Waller was intercepted on a deep seam route. The Spartans took over and turned to their dominant running game to pull away from Servite in the nonleague showdown between two of the state’s top-ranked teams.
De La Salle (5-0), which entered as the No.2-ranked team in the state according CalHighSports.com, scored on each of its next three possessions. Antoine Custer’s 49-yard touchdown run with 6:23 left in the game put the Spartans ahead, 47-17, and added an exclamation point to De La Salle’s 461-yard rushing night. Custer finished with 249 of those yards on 22 carries.
“Consistency was the key between the two halves,” Servite coach A.J. Gass said. “They came out and maintained consistency and we made mistakes in the second half, which cost us. And they got that momentum, and they do what they do.”
Servite (3-2) had an effective first half behind the play of Waller, even holding the lead, albeit briefly.
Servite’s lone lead lasted a total of nine seconds, after Waller completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Bynum with 4:40 left in the half.
Waller finished with 170 yards passing on the night, 114 of those going to Bynum on six receptions. Their scoring connection gave the Friars a 14-10 advantage.
On De La Salle’s first play of the ensuing series, Custer hit the hole and went untouched for 60 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. De La Salle closed the half with a 25-yard field goal to take a 20-14 lead into the intermission.
Waller proved to be a hassle for the aggressive De La Salle defense. His first half included 67 of his team-high 87 rushing yards, a 17-yard touchdown run and the scoring pass to Bynum.
This was the first meeting between the two schools since De La Salle defeated Servite, 48-8, in the 2010 CIF Open Division State Bowl game in Carson.
