Overconfidence for Lightning?

Rick Devereux

For a program that has won a total of six football games in the

history of the school, Sage Hill School Coach Tom Monarch has a

strange dilemma heading into Saturday’s contest against Fairmont Prep

at Valley Christian in Cerritos.

“We do have confidence,” Monarch said of the team’s mentality

following a 40-7 blowout win over Twin Pines. “What I fear is

overconfidence.”

Sage Hill (2-1) has relied on running backs Don Ayres and Keya

Manshadi to establish a solid running game. The duo have combined for

572 rushing yards on 75 carries (7.6 yards per attempt) with 10

touchdowns.

Fairmont Prep will counter with a defense that sports five down

linemen and two linebackers. The Huskies will also cheat their safety

closer to the line of scrimmage to take away the run.

“Our goal is to have Ayres and Manshadi both run for more than 100

yards,” Monarch said. “Both find holes well and both run hard. When

defenses get concerned with Manshadi running on the outside, it opens

up quick blasts for Ayres.

A five-man front leaves less people in the defensive backfield to

protect against the pass, so freshman quarterback Jamie McGee figures

to play an important part in Saturday’s contest.

When Fairmont Prep has the ball, running back Won Choi is the

primary weapon. He has two 100-yard games for the Huskies, but the

team is not run-oriented.

“They run a wide open type of offense,” Monarch said. “It may

cater to us well.”

All year Monarch has said he wants to force teams to pass to the

athletic cornerbacks Sage Hill has in the lineup. The Huskies have

thrown five interceptions this year, and the Lightning hope to

increase that number come Saturday.

“We need to put pressure on the quarterback,” Monarch said. “The

will create big plays for the defensive backs. If we get a couple

early sacks, we should be off and running.”

While Sage Hill set a school record for most lopsided victory

against Twin Pines, Fairmont Prep struggled to a 20-15 win. Monarch

said comparing the two games would incorrectly show the Huskies as a

much weaker team.

“Fairmont was missing some key players when they played Twin

Pines,” he said. “If we eliminate mistakes on offense we should be

successful. I think McGee will have a good game. It’s hard to say

he’s going to put up tremendous numbers because the running backs

will have big games. He won’t throw 30 times but he will be

effective.”