Lightning stricken

James Lee

There’s a first time for everything. The first playoff victory for

Sage Hill School’s football team will have to come another day.

The Lightning wilted under the pressure of third-seeded Linfield

Christian’s size and strength, losing a CIF Southern Section Division

XIII first-round contest, 32-8, at Fox Field.

In the loss, however, Sage Hill acquitted itself nicely in its

first postseason appearance and might have found its future.

“I think we played to our fullest potential,” Sage Hill Coach Tom

Monarch said. “When you’re young and playing a great, physical team,

eventually you’re going to have some breakdowns in fundamentals.

For a team that was facing a tall task against the Lions (9-1-1),

Sage Hill (7-4) wasn’t in a bad position at halftime. Chuck Wilson,

who rushed for a game-high 131 yards on 14 carries, scored on a

30-yard run late in the first quarter and Daniel Kelly added a

37-yard field goal.

Still, Linfield could have had more, turning the ball over at the

1-yard line when Dane Fages slipped and hit the turf just before

crossing the goal line.

In the end, though, the Lightning were just delaying the

inevitable as Linfield pounded the ball in the second half behind an

offensive line that included a pair of 300-pounders. The Lions ran

the ball 23 times for 162 yards after halftime.

“Sage Hill has had a real good season, but they’re young,”

Linfield Coach Chris Fore said. “We felt like we should’ve been up,

14-0, 21-0. We had some offensive breakdowns, but we finally got it

going in the second half.”

The deficit increased to 24-0 before Sage Hill was able to mount a

significant offensive charge. All but sacrificing the running game

that carried them much of the season, the Lightning played most of

the second in a spread offense and aired it out behind the arm of

Jamie McGee.

The freshman responded by throwing 130 yards in the second half,

completing 5 of 6 passes for 67 yards on a drive that culminated in a

16-yard touchdown pass to Keya Manshadi, who added a two-point

conversion.

Linfield tacked on a touchdown and a safety to extend the lead,

though Sage Hill had one last shot at getting on the scoreboard.

McGee, who completed 13 of 26 for 143 yards, moved the Lightning down

the field, but receivers dropped two passes in the end zone. Monarch

opted for a 34-yard field-goal attempt that fell short with 20

seconds left.

Monarch said he was pleased with how his offense moved the ball in

the second half, particularly through the air.

The Lightning have all but four players returning next year.

“Jamie really matured in this game,” Monarch said. “I’m looking

for us to pass the ball more next year.”

Manshadi rushed for 53 yards and caught a team-high seven passes

for 73 yards.

Sage sophomore Braden Ross had five receptions for 61 yards.