Past will be present for Servite’s Thomas

When Troy Thomas was in his first year coaching football at Encino Crespi in 2001, a student came into his tiny office and said, “I want to play bagpipes for you.”

“He shut the door and starts playing,” Thomas said. “I got chills.”

So started Crespi’s tradition of having a bagpiper lead the team onto the field. Thomas brought the same idea with him to Anaheim Servite, which means Friday’s 4:30 p.m. Southern Section Pac-5 Division semifinal between the schools at the Home Depot Center is going to be full of bagpipers.

It’s one of many similarities between two football programs that have been greatly influenced by Thomas.

“It’s going to be pretty funny,” Thomas said. “It’s all the same. It’s like looking into a mirror.”

Thomas, 38, and his former Crespi assistant, Jeremiah Ross, 31, served as graduate assistants at Fresno State, though not at the same time. Thomas left to resurrect a Crespi program that had gone 1-19 the previous two years. Ross joined him as offensive coordinator two years later.

When Thomas took the Servite job after the 2004 season, he left most of his assistants behind, and Ross took over.

It was a time when Crespi’s administration was uncertain about the future. Thomas had lobbied for the football program to move to Division I. When he left, the school wanted to withdraw its support, but it was too late.

“I knew what was coming and felt Crespi should be a Division I school,” Thomas said.

Ross guided Crespi to a second consecutive Division X championship in 2005 and has continued to build the program. Thomas, a cornerback on Crespi’s 1986 Big Five Conference championship team led by running back Russell White, couldn’t be happier.

“I love all those guys,” he said. “A lot of them started with me. I’m proud of them. I feel I’ve had a little bit to do with it. I love the way they’re playing.”

Of course, it’s going to be a family feud on Friday.

Thomas was up until 2 a.m. Sunday breaking down video. Ross was up until midnight doing the same.

“We’re both very competitive,” Ross said. “We’ll probably be both stressed out, but we’re going to have fun.”

Said Thomas: “People think Crespi and Servite have this plethora of football players. We have to coach real hard to be successful.”

As much as Thomas has pulled for the Celts, his loyalty lies with Servite. The school’s focus on character development fits with his motivation for coaching.

“The thing I love about Servite is it reminds me of when I went to Crespi,” he said. “There were so many good mentors and people who cared about me as a person. That was more important than what kind of athlete I was. It’s about developing leaders and well-rounded young men, and I love it and think Servite has its perspectives in order.”

Servite (9-2) has two big-time college prospects headed to USC in running back D.J. Shoemate and offensive tackle Matt Kalil. Crespi (10-2) has UCLA-bound defensive back E.J. Woods and Notre Dame-bound tight end Joseph Fauria. The winner earns a spot in next Saturday’s championship game, also at the Home Depot Center, against Long Beach Poly or Orange Lutheran.

Crespi’s coaching staff knows the challenge of facing a Thomas-coached team.

“He’ll be falling asleep with the rewind button in his hand,” assistant coach Chris Romero said.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Football playoffs

CITY SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION

Semifinals, 7 p.m. Friday: No. 4 Crenshaw (8-4) at No. 1 Birmingham (11-1); No. 6 Dorsey (9-3) at No. 2 Carson (10-2)

INVITATIONAL DIVISION

Semifinals, 7 p.m. Friday: No. 16 Huntington Park (7-5) vs. No. 13 Los Angeles University (8-4) at Venice

No. 3 Fairfax (8-4) at No. 2 Garfield (9-3)

EIGHT-MAN DIVISION

Championship at Contreras, 7 p.m. Thursday: No. 4 Fulton Prep (6-4) vs. No. 3 Annenberg (7-4)

SOUTHERN SECTION

Semifinals, Friday/Saturday, 7:30 p.m. unless noted

PAC-5 DIVISION

Friday at Home Depot Center: Long Beach Poly (11-1) vs. Orange Lutheran (10-1), 8 p.m.; Servite (9-2) vs. Crespi (10-2), 4:30 p.m.

INLAND DIVISION

Chaparral (9-3) at Corona Centennial (11-1), Saturday; Corona Santiago (7-4) vs. Redlands East Valley (12-0) at Yucaipa, Friday

WESTERN DIVISION

St. Paul (8-4) at Gahr (10-2), Saturday; Dominguez (10-2) vs. Palmdale (11-1) at Knight, Friday

NORTHERN DIVISION

Saugus (10-2) vs. St. Bonaventure (11-1) at Ventura HS, Saturday, 7 p.m.; Newbury Park (11-1) vs. Hart (11-0-1) at College of Canyons, Friday

CENTRAL DIVISION

Colony (10-2) at Moreno Valley (10-2), Saturday; Colton (8-3) vs. Canyon Springs (7-4) at Moreno Valley, Friday

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

South Hills (10-2) vs. El Dorado (11-1) at Placentia Valencia, Saturday 7 p.m.; Trabuco Hills (11-1) at Charter Oak (10-1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

La Habra (11-0) at California (11-1), Saturday, 7 p.m.; Fullerton (8-3) at Schurr (8-4), Friday, 7 p.m.

EASTERN DIVISION

Palm Springs (6-6) at Palm Desert (9-3), Saturday, 7 p.m.; Riverside North (11-1) at King (7-5), Friday, 7 p.m.

SOUTHERN DIVISION

Garden Grove Pacifica (9-2) vs. La Palma Kennedy (8-3) at Western, Saturday, 7 p.m.; Placentia Valencia (8-2-1) vs. Cypress (8-3) at Western, Friday, 7 p.m.

NORTHWEST DIVISION

St. Bernard (8-4) at Nordhoff (8-3-1), Saturday, 7 p.m.; Oak Park (9-3) at Oaks Christian (9-3), Friday

MID-VALLEY DIVISION

Paraclete (12-0) vs. Bishop Diego (10-2) at Santa Barbara CC, Saturday; Santa Clara (9-1-1) at Cerritos Valley Christian (7-5), Friday

EAST VALLEY DIVISION

Bishop (7-5) at Citrus Hill (12-0), Saturday, 7 p.m.; San Jacinto (10-2) vs. Riverside Notre Dame (8-4) at Riverside CC, Friday

NORTHEAST DIVISION

Calvary Murrieta (9-3) at St. Margaret’s (12-0), Saturday, 7 p.m.; Saddleback Valley Christian (12-0) vs. Brentwood (11-1) at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Friday

8-MAN PLAYOFFS

DIVISION I

Championship, 7 p.m. Friday: Faith Baptist (12-0) at Joshua Springs (11-0-1)

DIVISION II

Championship, 7 p.m. Friday; South Bay Lutheran (10-0) at Cuyama Valley (9-2)