Too much pain and nothing gained for Sage

NEWPORT COAST — Hampered by injuries at key positions, Sage Hill School football coach Tom Monarch likened his squad’s practice this past week to a Civil War battlefield.

Friday night’s outcome wasn’t quite as gruesome, but the Lightning did end up losing to visiting Army & Navy of Carlsbad, 24-14, as a second-half rally fell short.

With junior starting quarterback Jamie McGee sidelined due to a shoulder injury, junior backup Michael Higgins filled in and led the Lightning (2-3) to an outcome against the Warriors (4-1) that Monarch was pleased with.

“Looking at our practice, it looked like a scene from the Civil War this week,” Monarch said. “With that said, to come out here and play a hard-fought game against [Army and Navy], which is now 4-1 — I wouldn’t trade it. We played our hearts out.”

Higgins, starting at QB for the first time, completed 9 of 19 passes for 211 yards, as the Lightning were forced to throw heavily in the second half due to the Warriors keying in on senior running back Don Ayres.

Senior wideout Braden Ross was Higgins’ main recipient, hauling in six catches for 136 yards, including a 69-yarder in the third quarter that put Sage in scoring position at the one-yard line.

Higgins stepped into three-year starter McGee’s shoes and nearly rallied the Lightning to the come-from-behind win. A fourth-quarter goal-line stand by the Warriors was all that cut the rally short.

Still, Higgins was critical of his performance.

“It’s tough because [McGee] is like an all-star quarterback,” said Higgins, who entered in the fourth quarter of last week’s game when McGee was initially injured. “He throws pretty passes every time. I wish I didn’t throw those interceptions. And at the end, my guys were open and I just couldn’t get it to them.”

In addition to McGee being out, the Lightning were without the services of junior running back Tom Multari. However, Sage did benefit its regular workhorse Ayres, who took a screen pass 48 yards to set up his two-yard touchdown plunge with two seconds left in the first half, cutting the deficit to 16-8 with the two-point conversion.

Higgins and Ayres went back to the screen pass in the second half, and the running back finished with three catches for 75 yards, in addition to his 34 yards on the ground.

“I’m proud of my kids,” Monarch said. “We came in without McGee, with Ayres only on offense and a couple of other banged up kids. We played well.”

But what has plagued the Lightning in the past came back again Friday — a slow start.

The Warriors quickly jumped out to a 16-0 first-quarter lead, as Army and Navy marched its first possession right down the field for pay dirt, and scored eight again on its third possession.

Sage countered with time dwindling in the half and put eight on the scoreboard after Ayres’ run and Higgins’ two-point conversion run. And the Lightning came right back out in the second half and drove down the field for six more, capped by junior Max Torres’ 1-yard TD run. The drive was keyed by a short pass over the middle to Ross, who darted for 69 yards to the one.

The two-point conversion was missed, however, and Sage trailed, 16-14.

It appeared as if Sage was going to hold the Warriors scoreless in the fourth, but a key pass interference call on the Lightning gave Army & Navy a first down on third and 15. Two plays later, the Warriors held a 24-14 lead.

With time winding down, Sage managed an 11-play drive that ended at the two-yard line, where the Warriors held the Lightning from scoring.

The drive was keyed by a 20-yard pass to Ross on fourth down that put Sage at the 15 yard line.

A pass interference call on the Warriors gave Sage a first-and-goal situation from the seven, but the drive ended with no points.

“We knew [Sage Hill] is a good club,” Warriors Coach Bert Ford said. “We knew we were going to be in close a ball game. We made a couple mistakes and it almost cost us. They’ve got a great program.”