A relentless effort

It would have been easy for Sage Hill School’s first-year coach J.R. Tolver to say that he entered determined to change the mentality of the football team.

The Lightning, after all, suffered through a 2-8 season and there seemed to be a fear that losing had become habit.

That could have been seen in Sage Hill’s opener last year, which it lost, 41-6, to Fairmont Prep.

The Lightning open again against Fairmont Prep, this time at Sage Hill tonight at 7 p.m.

Tolver doesn’t see a losing mentality at Sage Hill. He said he’s seen a group of players who have worked hard. But with regard to last year, they just need more motivation.

“We didn’t need to a change the mentality,” Tolver said. “We came here and introduced a new mentality.”

And what was that? Something simple.

“I think the biggest thing for the team is they now know to respect the game,” Tolver said. “The way you respect is you play hard from the beginning to the end, no matter what the score is.

“People will realize that we do respect the game. We’ll do that with our effort from the beginning to the end.”

The Lightning will need that effort against the Huskies, who finished 8-3 last year and went 6-1 in the San Joaquin League to finish second behind Saddleback Valley Christian.

Tolver has noticed that Fairmont Prep respects the game, as the Huskies were relentless in their win last year, he said.

“They play hard,” Tolver said. “When they when up on us early they didn’t let their foot of the gas.”