Sage Hill holds its playoff fate in its control

sh football pre vs. CVCLightning can clinch playoff berth with victory over visiting Capistrano Valley Christian tonight.While the Sage Hill School football team’s matchup against visiting Capistrano Valley Christian at 7 p.m. tonight appears on the surface to be a sure victory for the Lightning, Coach Tom Monarch doesn’t want to pencil in the win just yet.

“Right now, CVC has nothing to lose,” Monarch said. “We went in there last year and beat them right after they beat St. Margaret’s, so there’s a little bit of payback on their agenda.

“If we come in flat or overconfident, we may be in for a bit of a surprise.”

Still, the Lightning’s chance at victory appears decent.

The Eagles enter the contest winless at 0-8, 0-2 in the Academy League, while Sage Hill (7-1, 1-1) enters with just one loss -- at the hands of St. Margaret’s (8-0, 2-0), ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division XIII, on Friday.

The Lightning, ranked No. 10 in CIF Division XIII, can clinch the four-team league’s second playoff berth with a victory over the Eagles.

Sage Hill has a chance -- albeit a slim one -- at a league tri-championship if Brethren Christian upsets St. Margaret’s tonight.

But the Lightning can control their playoff destiny with a victory tonight.

“We’re going to really let them let loose,” Monarch said. “It’s senior night, so the seniors have been waiting a long time for this. It’s a must win.”

Prior to the 56-8 setback to St. Margaret’s last week, the Lightning had been defeating opponents by an average of 32.3 points.

Even though Sage Hill lost big to the Tartans, some positives were taken away from the contest, Monarch said.

“This last game was a reality check,” he said. “We’re hoping we can use that as a tool to make us work harder. We’re going to have to elevate our game a notch.”

Senior tailback Keya Manshadi enters tonight’s game with 19 touchdowns, while junior fullback Don Ayres comes in with 11 scores. Sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee has thrown for 14 touchdowns and run for two more.

Ayres and McGee were shut out against St. Margaret’s, as Manshadi was the lone Sage Hill player to find the end zone.

But that will likely be a different story tonight.