Sage Hill stifles Huskies with shutout

Bryce Alderton

The loudest, most sustained cheers for the Sage Hill School football

team didn’t follow one of its five touchdowns, but came in the waning

minutes of a game it had well in its grasp.

Sage Hill fans chanted “defense” and the Lightning made one final

stop to secure their second shutout in 14 varsity games following a

35-0 victory against host Fairmont Prep Saturday night at Valley

Christian High.

The Lightning (3-1) held Fairmont to minus-13 rushing yards and 54

yards of total offense and are off to the best start in their third

season of existence.

“To get a shutout in a varsity game is a true accomplishment,”

Sage Coach Tom Monarch said. “For the players to stay strong for all

four quarters is one of the most difficult things in football.”

Sage sacked Fairmont quarterback Chad Sudoko 10 times while

pressuring him countless others.

Lightning junior linebacker Nick Sohl and junior defensive end

Michael Morgan each tallied three sacks, making it difficult for

Fairmont (1-4) to develop any offensive rhythm. The closest the

Huskies drove into Lightning territory was the 20-yard line in the

third quarter, but consecutive sacks by Morgan and Sohl moved the

hosts back 15 yards and their fourth-down try failed.

“The defense came together for this game,” Sohl said. “We were

faster and [Fairmont’s] offensive line couldn’t stop us. This was our

revenge game from last year.”

The Huskies prevailed, 26-13, last fall, but the Lightning scored

touchdowns on their first two possessions Saturday and never looked

back.

Sage went 58 yards in 11 plays in 5:53 on the first drive of the

contest, which ended in freshman quarterback Jamie McGee connecting

with sophomore receiver Braden Ross for a 7-yard touchdown toss on a

fade pattern to the front corner of the end zone.

Sage forced a Fairmont punt and got the ball back on its own

31-yard line. Eleven plays later, sophomore fullback Don Ayres capped

the drive with a 1-yard TD burst, his first of two scores on the

ground.

Ayres finished with 131 rushing yards on 20 carries with two TDs

while backfield mate Keya Manshadi gained 108 yards on the ground

with one TD. Manshadi added a receiving TD when McGee hit him in

stride on a post pattern for a 24-yard score to put Sage up, 21-0,

with 8:28 to go in the third quarter.

Ayres also caught three passes for 30 yards as Sage’s offensive

line of Bryan Kornsweit, Kyle Ramer, Morgan, Brandon David, Morgan

Brief and Bryan Forrest, with help from tight end Stephen Hancock

(one catch for 13 yards) and Jimmy O’Hare, provided time for McGee to

complete 8 of 18 passes for 94 yards and two TDs, while getting

sacked only once.

* See B3 for box score