Sage’s striking debut

The blank canvas of history took the form of plush green grass

Friday afternoon at Sage Hill High as the Lightning football team

hosted tiny Midway Baptist from San Diego in the first varsity game

for the Newport Coast-based private school that opened in the fall of

2000.

After playing two lower-level seasons before hitting the varsity

big time, Coach Tom Monarch’s Lightning didn’t seem to mind at all

that traffic delayed Midway Baptist’s arrival till after the

scheduled 4 p.m. kickoff.

The crowd, which swelled to about 200, also seemed content to sit

out the arrival of the opponent, for which all but a few of its 17

players shuffled down the concrete steps, cleats clicking, and

trotted onto the emerald field at 4:03 p.m.

After a short warmup, the second such exercise for the hosts, the

game kicked off at 4:23.

The first Sage Hill kickoff team consisted of Patrick Smith, Keya

Manshadi, Marcel Sohl, Grayson Ross, Erik Williams, James O’Hare,

kicker Zach Friedrichs, Morgan Brief, Kevin Emamian, Erik Good and

Eddie Huang.

Williams and Good combined on the first tackle, setting the stage

for Sage’s defensive debut.

Ends Sohl and Scott Cho, tackles Bryan Forrest and Drew Roeser,

noseguard Brief, middle linebacker Cliff Swanson, outside ‘backers

Williams and Ray Lim, cornerbacks Manshadi and Huang and safety

Friedrichs stuffed the Patriots on three plays, forcing a punt.

Swanson hammered a ball carrier for a short gain during the series,

Sage’s first official varsity stick.

The first offensive snap occurred at 4:27, with quarterback

Friedrichs taking the snap from O’Hare and handing to Swanson for a

4-yard dive play.

The rest of the lineup included Williams at tailback, Huang and

Manshadi at receivers, Cho at tight end, Forrest and Ross at tackles,

as well as Roeser and Sohl at guards.

Williams, taking a toss around the left side, picked up the first

Sage first down and Friedrichs connected with tight end Cho for the

first pass completion.

Friedrichs scrambled 9 yards around the left side at 4:31 p.m. for

the first Sage touchdown, then kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead with

7:12 left in the first quarter.

Other firsts for the Lightning included the first tackle for loss

(Cho) the first quarterback sack (Cho), the first forced turnover, a

fumble recovered by Williams, the first touchdown allowed (5:05 p.m.)

and the first gadget play, a double pass that fell incomplete near

the end of the first half.

The most important first, however, was the Lightning’s 42-24

victory, which became official at 6:54 p.m.

*

Some other observations from the Sage Hill opener:

* The Sage Hill choral group that sang the national anthem

outnumbered the Lightning player roster, 36-28.

* With no admission charge and plenty of good seats available in

the shiny metal bleachers, Lightning home games are certainly a cheap

date.

* Those in the market for a Sage Hill souvenir had more to choose

from than the standard sweatshirts, T-shirts and caps most booster

groups provide.

The clothing line bearing the Sage Hill logo, which included all

of the aforementioned items, also featured two different varieties of

boxer briefs, one in green and another in gray.

* The 17 Sage players not in the game are responsible for

generating spirit among their fans, stationed all the way across the

field.

Brief, a 5-foot-6, 150-pound freshman lineman, illustrated this

point midway through the second quarter when he shouted, “C’mon guys,

we don’t have cheerleaders. Cheer your teammates on, let’s go!”

*

Among the best sights I saw at a season-opening football game last

week was the Costa Mesa players, lined up single file, to shake the

hand of assistant coach Al Dies, before heading into the locker room

after pregame warm-ups prior to Friday’s nonleague clash with Corona

del Mar at Newport Harbor High.

Dies, a longtime coach who has worked with offensive and defensive

linemen under several different head coaches at Mesa, is recovering

from a broken pelvis and other injuries sustained during a fall while

painting the Mesa locker room days before fall practice began.

Dies, who attended Wednesday’s Mustang practice, his first contact

with the players since his injury, watched Friday’s game from a

wheelchair.

Mesa Coach Dave Perkins said Dies, known and respected for his

toughness, is already “chomping at the bit,” to return to his

coaching duties this season.

“He’s working real hard to get back and he’s doing very well,”

Perkins said.