Sage Hill short of Academy League crown

NEWPORT COAST — “Playoffs” was the Sage Hill School football team’s chant after Friday night’s 42-21 loss to rival St. Margaret’s.

It’s the CIF Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs, which begin next week, where the Lightning hope to go far.

And in those playoffs, No. 5-ranked Sage Hill hopes to get another chance against the No. 1-ranked Tartans. After trailing, 21-0, at halftime on Friday, the Lightning battled the Tartans to a 21-all draw in the second half.

Sage Hill (6-4, 3-1 in league), which finished second in the Academy League, is only the second team to score over 17 points against St. Margaret’s (10-0, 4-0) this season.

“That was starters against starters that entire second half, and it was a 21-21 ballgame,” Sage Hill Coach Tom Monarch said. “That’s what I liked. To play the No. 1 team in CIF in your division even in the second half, you have to be proud of your kids.”

On Senior Night, senior Don Ayres ran for a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass from Jamie McGee for the Lightning, who also scored on Max Torres’ one-yard touchdown run.

But it was too much of St. Margaret’s running back Michael Duenes all night long. The Tartans senior rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the second half.

It was Duenes who stumbled on a 12-yard running play on the Tartans’ first drive, but no Sage Hill player was there to tackle him. So Duenes got back up and slipped into the end zone, giving St. Margaret’s a 7-0 lead.

St. Margaret’s was driving again on its second drive, but a fumble was recovered on the Sage Hill four-yard line by the Lightning’s Zach Rabosky.

But the Lightning were unable to move the ball, and St. Margaret’s scored again on its next possession on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Morrison, who found a seam in the middle of the field.

Down 14-0 after a quarter, Sage Hill drove all the way to the St. Margaret’s three-yard line on its next possession. McGee eluded a sack on fourth-and-goal, but an incomplete pass caused a turnover on downs.

“Just getting to this game, a league championship game, was a victory in and of itself,” McGee said. “We wanted to beat St. Margaret’s, but we didn’t play that great of a game. I want to meet them in the playoffs, because I think we’ll play a better game against them.”

Still, Sage Hill went into the locker room down 21-0, after rushing for just 38 yards in the first half.

“They have very good athletes on the defensive line, and they were all over the field,” Monarch said of the Tartans. “We haven’t played a team with that much quickness on the line.”

Sage Hill senior left guard Ryan Ramming said the slow start frustrated the Lightning, who came out more determined in the second half.

“In the first half, we made some mistakes,” Ramming said. “If we had scored 21 against their first-team defense in the second half, we should have been able to do it in the first half. But in the second half, we started working harder. We worked on the line and got the run going, just pushing hard.”

The passing game also came alive in the second half, as receiver Braden Ross had 88 yards after intermission alone. But it was Ayres who scored Sage Hill’s lone passing score, on a 10-yard play-action pass from McGee. That touchdown and Alex Edelstein’s point-after made it 35-14, St. Margaret’s, with 6:57 left in the game.

Duenes’ fourth rushing touchdown of the game came on the Tartans’ next possession, a 29-yard run where he broke two would-be Sage tackles in the backfield.

But Sage answered right back, going 54 yards on a drive ending with Ayres’ one-yard TD run.

“St. Margaret’s outplayed us, but I think most of the kids want to play them again,” Monarch said.