Sage nearly pulls off win

NEWPORT COAST — Just 11 yards away from potentially tying the game, Sage Hill School sophomore quarterback Randall Mycorn looked in the huddle. Before the snap, he stared at his receivers. As he took the ball, he searched in the end zone. There was something missing — rather someone.

It was easy to notice Connor Gaughan — pronounced, “gone,” — was, well, living up to his last name. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior wide receiver was gone, out with a shoulder injury and Mycorn struggled to find an open receiver with about three minutes left.

That was one of the handful of reasons the Lightning lost a game they felt they should’ve won. Instead, Army-Navy Academy of Carlsbad walked off Sage Hill’s field with a 14-6 victory Friday night.

“The injuries really took a toll on us,” Mycorn said. “We had an injury to two of our top receivers. That really narrowed the offense for us a lot.”

Gaughan sustained the shoulder injury late in the first quarter and did not return. Sage Hill junior wide receiver Andy Multari, who is also a key defensive back, did not play in the game because he suffered a rib injury during a kickoff return at Thursday’s practice.

The Lightning (1-4) had second-and-one from the Army-Navy 11 with 3:10 left. Mycorn threw two straight incomplete passes. The first one went to senior Craig Jackson, who actually caught the ball, but was ruled out of bounds near the back of the end zone.

Jackson had a great game, catching six balls for 42 yards. He made some acrobatic catches and also stood out on defense.

On fourth-and-one, senior Jelani Reynolds took the handoff and fell forward to what appeared to be a first down. But the head referee ruled him short. The referee did not call for a measurement.

“I thought it was a poor spot, but there is nothing I can do about it,” Reynolds said. “I just run the ball. I thought we got it. It was bad, but you take it as you go.”

Said Sage Hill Coach Derek McIntyre: “We didn’t get a good spot, that’s for sure. But that’s the way they saw it. He fell forward and I thought he had enough.”

The Warriors (4-2) took over, picked up two first downs and ran out the clock. They were led by junior Tommy Brown, a 5-foot-6 running back who gained 153 yards and scored a touchdown on 29 carries.

Yet for all the yards the diminutive Brown picked up, the Lightning were done in by two breakdowns on special teams. However, they also scored mainly because of a special teams play.

Protecting a 6-0 lead in the second quarter, Sage Hill was about to receive a punt. But the ball bounced and hit a Lightning player who was blocking and unaware the ball had hit him. The Warriors recovered. Brown ran for 40 yards on the ensuing play and three plays later scored from a yard out. The PAT gave Army-Navy a 7-6 lead.

On Sage Hill’s next possession, it went three and out. The Lightning tried to go for a fake punt, but the ball went through the hands of the up-back it was intended for, and once again the Warriors recovered. Three plays later, Army-Navy increased its lead. Derrick Buchanan caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Varden Bernstein. Buchanan was wide open, as a Sage Hill defender fell on the play.

“It was a punt fake, fourth-and-short and we were playing to win,” McIntyre said of the key special teams play. “We took a shot at it, but unfortunately it went through the hands of the up-back. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

“You gamble on those things. Sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t.”

It left the Lightning with regret. McIntyre searched for encouraging words, as his players huddled around the first-year coach after the loss.

“It’s headed in the right direction,” he told them. “Much better. This shows what you’re capable of. Don’t accept the loss. It should give you the hunger. That’s a great job. But you should get sick and tired of losing.”

Sage Hill had the look of a winning team, especially in the first quarter when the Lightning took a 6-0 lead with 5:51 remaining.

An Army-Navy nine-yard punt put Sage Hill on the Warriors 24 to help the cause. Gaughan drew a pass interference on a third-and-eight play. That was the play he was injured on, McIntyre said. It led to Dusty Orrantia’s TD.

The junior wide receiver hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Mycorn. After an illegal motion penalty, the Warriors blocked the PAT.

It was a mistake for the Lightning, but McIntyre felt positive after the game.

“I thought it was our best effort of the season, even better than the win [24-8 over Animo on Sept. 12],” said McIntyre, whose team suffered its third straight loss. “We were consistent with our effort. We blocked much better and we ran much better. We played good on defense. This is a team that is very physical and we matched up well. I was very happy with it. I don’t want to be happy with losing the game, but I think our guys feel we are headed in the right direction.”

ARMY-NAVY ACADEMY 14, SAGE HILL 6

Army-Navy 0-14-0-0---14

Sage Hill 6-0-0-0---6

FIRST QUARTER

SH – Orrantia 12 pass from Mycorn (kick failed), 5:51.

SECOND QUARTER

AN – Brown 1 run (Kudinov kick), 4:14.

AN – Buchanan 34 pass from Bernstein (Kudinov kick), :57.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

AN – Brown, 29-153, 1 TD; Coley, 1-24; Bernstein, 3-minus 9.

SH – Reynolds, 15-49; Jackson, 5-11; Ellison, 2-2; Mycorn, 2-2; Gyulay, 2-minus 7.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

AN – Bernstein, 3-9-2, 50, 1 TD.

SH – Mycorn, 9-20-0, 81, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

AN – Rush, 2-16; Buchanan, 1-34, 1 TD.

SH – Jackson, 6-52; Orrantia, 3-29, 1 TD.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at steve.virgen@latimes.com.