Sage’s show fades in shootout

NEWPORT COAST — Just like the first time Sage Hill School played Linfield Christian this year, Lions running back Daniel Musquiz ran wild against the Lightning Friday night.

This time, the Lightning had no answer, and their season is over.

Musquiz rushed for 339 yards and scored six touchdowns as Linfield Christian toppled the Lightning, 62-32, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs at Sage Hill.

Sage Hill, which had come back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit in its 36-35 nonleague victory at Linfield Christian on Oct. 19, had no such tricks to pull out of the bag this time. Instead, the Lightning gave up the second-most points it has all season.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around Friday night, hopes of a similar comeback were already fleeting. The Lions (8-3) were already more than doubling up the Lightning (8-3) by a 49-24 count.

Linfield Christian quarterback Jason Moralez also had Musquiz’s back. Moralez, who finished with an efficient 116 yards passing and two scores, completed seven of seven passes for 95 yards and the two touchdowns in the first half alone.

It was part of a decisive Lions onslaught that saw Linfield score touchdowns on its first five possessions.

Sage Hill could only answer once in the first half, when senior quarterback Jamie McGee (453 yards and four touchdowns) connected with senior receiver Nick Witte on a 58-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Lightning strike cut the Linfield Christian lead to 21-8, but the Lions added two more touchdowns in the second quarter and were up, 35-8, at halftime.

Musquiz, who had a previous season-high 200 rushing yards in Sage Hill’s narrow win last month, had 144 yards on the ground in Friday’s first half alone. For the game, the 5-foot-9 junior running back that Sage Hill Coach Pete Anderson has described as “slimy” and hard to tackle, wriggled for 380 all-purpose yards, including a 28-yard touchdown reception from Moralez.

The large number of Linfield Christian supporters who made the trek from Temecula had plenty of reason to yell out “Mooooose” whenever Musquiz (pronounced Moose-keys) would rip off a long run.

But Sage Hill and the four-year varsity starting quarterback McGee would go down firing. McGee, who had his second straight game of more than 400 yards, hit Witte on a 95-yard slant pass for a touchdown late in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 42-24.

On the very next play from scrimmage, however, Musquiz rumbled for a 66-yard touchdown of his own to stop any momentum the Lightning might be building.

McGee found senior Preston Oklejas on a 24-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the two-point conversion pass to senior Michael Higgins pared the deficit to 49-32.

After an onside kick was unsuccessful, Linfield Christian got the ball at midfield. Five plays later, Musquiz again found the end zone, this time on an 11-yard run.

Linfield Christian would score again with 1:32 left for the final touchdown of the game.

McGee converted all four of his attempted two-point conversion passes, three to Witte and one to Higgins. But Sage Hill also didn’t help itself by committing 14 penalties, many of them at key junctures to give the Lions a first down.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.

FIRST QUARTER

LC – Musquiz 28 run (Yost kick), 7:52.

LC – Musquiz 28 pass from Moralez (Yost kick), 4:08.

LC – Maranville 5 run (Yost kick), 2:53.

SH – Witte 58 pass from McGee (Witte pass from McGee), 1:29.

SECOND QUARTER

LC – Van Bruggen 13 pass from Moralez (Yost kick), 8:10.

LC – Musquiz 1 run (Yost kick), 0:56.

THIRD QUARTER

SH – Oklejas 33 pass from McGee (Witte pass from McGee), 9:12.

LC – Musquiz 2 run (Yost kick), 2:10.

SH – Witte 95 pass from McGee (Witte pass from McGee), 1:42.

LC – Musquiz 66 run (Yost kick), 1:31.

FOURTH QUARTER

SH – Oklejas 24 pass from McGee (Higgins pass from McGee), 9:16.

LC – Musquiz 11 run (kick failed), 8:06.

LC – Maranville 7 run (Yost kick), 1:27.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

SH – McGee, 1-26; Torres, 2-2; Witte, 1-minus 2.

LC – Musquiz, 40-339, 5 TDs; Maranville, 4-22, 2 TDs; Hoffman, 6-18; Blake, 1-13; Schultz, 1-8; Moralez, 4-1.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

SH – McGee, 20-40-4, 453, 4 TDs.

LC – Moralez, 9-10-0, 116, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

SH – Witte, 7-263, 2 TDs; Oklejas, 11-157, 2 TDs; Higgins, 1-24; Torres, 1-9.

LC – Musquiz, 3-41, 1 TD; Blake, 2-34; Yost, 2-25; Van Bruggen, 1-13, 1 TD; Maranville, 1-3.