Sage Hill denied in playoff debut

LONG BEACH — When Sage Hill High School made the switch from 11-man to 8-man football before this season, several players weren’t pleased.

Some chose not to return to the field at all.

But a core group of seniors and juniors stayed and those were the players Sage Hill’s first-year coach B.J. Crabtree praised after Avalon defeated the Lightning, 43-7, in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 first-round playoff game Friday at Cabrillo High School.

After the game, Crabtree told his players that while losing never feels good, they should be proud of themselves.

Finishing with a winning record and qualifying for the playoffs is a major accomplishment for a team playing 8-man football for the first time, Crabtree said.

“These guys have come a long way,” Crabtree said. “We’ve got a playoff game with this crew where a lot could have quit and followed the crowd the other way.”

The No. 7 Lancers (9-0) are the defending CIF champions with a well-established 8-man program and were simply too big and fast for the Lightning (5-4).

Avalon controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage and had the Lightning on their heels right from the start.

Just over a minute into the game, Jaime Alaniz returned a punt 40 yards for a touchdown, giving the Lancers a 7-0 lead.

Later in the quarter Alaniz ran for a 45-yard touchdown to make the score 13-0.

The Lightning, who averaged 51 points per game coming into the contest, had are hard time moving the ball against Avalon’s stingy defense, which allowed an average of 18.5 points coming in.

But an interception and 37-yard return by Miles McCord set the Lightning up at the Avalon 13.

McCord was injured on the play and was sidelined for the rest of the game.

Two plays later, quarterback William Leong ran for a one-yard touchdown to get Sage Hill on the board early in the second quarter.

But it was all Lancers the rest of the way.

CIF rules call for a running clock in the fourth quarter when a team is ahead by at least 35 points, but Crabtree elected to go with the running clock at the start of the third quarter when his team was down 35-7.

With McCord on the sidelines and another starting receiver who was unable to play at all, Crabtree said he opted for the running clock to protect his team from further injury.

“We felt it was in the best interest of our players to get that clock running,” Crabtree said.” That is never an easy choice.”

The Lightning was held to 0 yards rushing and 58 yards of total offense.

Sage Hill’s team was comprised of four seniors and two juniors with the rest being sophomores and freshmen.

He expects to get more players from next year’s freshman class and believes the program will continue to improve.

“This journey started before me with this big challenge at school when they decided to go from 11 to eight,” Crabtree said. “We’re staying here and we’re going to continue to grow.”

CIF SS 8-Man Division 1 Playoffs

Avalon 43, Sage Hill 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Sage Hill 0 - 7 - 0 - 0 -- 7

Avalon 13 - 22 - 0 - 8 -- 43

FIRST QUARTER

Av – Martinez 40 punt return, (Campos kick), 10:46.

Av – Martinez 45 run, (run failed), 7:02.

SECOND QUARTER

SH – Leong 1 run, (Dannelley kick), 11:33.

Av – Alcala 4 pass from Torres-Zellar, (Tamayo run), 10:49.

Av – Alcala 20 pass from Torres-Zellar, (pass failed), 8:46.

Av – Alaniz 5 run, (Martinez run), 6:07.

FOURTH QUARTER

Av – Martinez 35 run, (Hernandez run), 11:15.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

SH – Karahalios, 9-10.

Av – Alaniz, 8-111, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

SH – Leong, 6-22-1, 58.

Av- Torres-Zellar, 4-6-1, 38, 2TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Av – Alcala, 2-24, 2TDs.

SH – McCord, 3-37.