Sage devours Trojans

Sage Hill football for Sat.Manshadi erupts for seven touchdowns to help Lightning complete preleague season with 6-0 record Friday night.YERMO -- With “Thunder” sidelined on offense, “Lightning” flashed the brightest, streaking through the desert climate and scorching the Silver Valley High football team.

But it wasn’t Mother Nature providing the fireworks in the Mojave Desert Friday night.

Senior tailback Keya Manshadi totaled 313 all-purpose yards and scored a career-high and school-record seven touchdowns, leading Sage Hill to a 55-14 nonleague victory over the Trojans.

“It’s one of the best high school performances I’ve seen in a long time,” said Lightning Coach Tom Monarch, whose team improved to 6-0 with the win over the depleted Trojans (0-6). “I told Keya before the season began that if he works hard, he has got the ability to take over games.”

Manshadi did just that, rushing for 181 yards and four TDs on just seven carries while also hauling in three catches for 107 yards and two scores. On defense, he picked off a pass and returned it 25 yards to the end zone.

He scored on runs of 15, 29, 63 and 42 yards, and his two TD receptions covered 64 and 30 yards.

Manshadi had three TDs in the first quarter and all of his scores came before the fourth quarter, when Sage, ranked No. 8 in CIF Southern Section Division XIII, emptied the bench.

“We came out here knowing we beat them big last year, so we knew they were going to put up a fight,” Manshadi said. “The team and I came out pumped and the score shows we came out ready.”

Sidelined on offense due to a minor knee sprain, junior fullback Don Ayres played minimally on defense, recording one sack for a loss of 10 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee completed 5 of 12 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in Sage’s last nonleague game before playing host to Brethren Christian Oct. 28.

Academy League play is going to be a different story than what Sage has faced so far, Monarch said.

“Scoring is going to be difficult from here on out,” he said. “Teams are going to come out hitting us just as hard as we hit them. They’re going to have skill position players just as good as we do, if not better in some places. We just have to come out with intensity.”

After Brethren, Sage plays St. Margaret’s, ranked No. 2 in CIF Divisionb XIII.

Sage Hill 55, Silver Valley 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS