12 Lightning lauded

Six Sage Hill School football players garnered first-team All-Academy League honors, as selected by the league’s coaches.

Senior receiver-strong safety Braden Ross, who was named first-team all-league, was a force on offense for the Lightning.

Ross led Sage Hill to a second-place finish in league and helped Coach Tom Monarch’s squad advance to the CIF Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs.

The Lightning lost, 23-8, in the first round to Maranatha, which advanced to the section final, where it was defeated by Academy League champion St. Margaret’s.

Ross caught 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown in the Lightning’s playoff game.

On the year Ross caught 66 passes for a league-leading 1,092 yards and six touchdowns.

He also made a team-high 50 tackles to go with five interceptions.

Junior quarterback-free safety Jamie McGee was also named first-team all-league.

McGee led the team with eight interceptions.

McGee threw for a league-high 1,650 yards, completing 106 of 175 passes for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions for a quarterback rating of 113.

Senior running back-linebacker Don Ayres missed time with an injury but still rushed for 865 yards and 13 touchdowns on 155 carries.

Junior fullback-linebacker Max Torres provided solid play on both sides of the ball. Torres was second on the team with 563 yards rushing, 43 tackles and five sacks.

Senior center J.J. Schumacher was named to the first team as was junior Joey Puishys who excelled on both offense and defense.

Puishys, who played right guard and linebacker, lead the league with 6 1/2 sacks.

Linemen Stuart Palley, Cody Gates, Ryan Ramming, Dan Kernan and Craig Jackson, as well as receiver-cornerback Michael Higgins were named second-team all-league.

Palley, a senior played defensive tackle.

Gates, a junior was the left tackle and defensive end.

Ramming, a senior, played left guard.

Kernan, a senior, was the right tackle and defensive end, while Jackson, a sophomore, played defensive tackle.

Higgins, a junior, caught 11 passes for 179 yards.