Lightning gets stuck

Sage Hill fades after a close first quarter and loses to host St. Margaret’s in a battle with league title implications on the line.SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO -- The St. Margaret’s School football team lived up to its No. 1 billing, and then some.

In a game that possibly provided some perspective for the postseason, the Tartans pummeled visiting Sage Hill, 56-8, in an Academy League game with title implications Friday night.

The Tartans (8-0, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division XIII, will likely wrap up the league championship against Brethren Christian on Friday.

Sage Hill (7-1, 1-1), ranked No. 8 in CIF Division XIII, can claim the four-team league’s second playoff berth with a win over Capistrano Valley Christian on Friday.

Riding high all season with large victories, the Lightning -- for the first time -- suffered what they were used to dishing out to other teams.

Tartans running back Steffien Hunter rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns, and threw for another, and quarterback Scott Edgcomb ran for 93 yards and two scores.

“When you play a powerhouse like that, you’re going to take your lumps,” Lightning Coach Tom Monarch said. “They beat us at the line, they had superior athletes and we physically got beat up.”

Senior tailback Keya Manshadi carried 19 times for 84 yards and Sage Hill’s lone touchdown, and junior fullback Don Ayres rumbled for 11 carries and 67 yards.

The numbers were atypical for the two backs, who were used to slicing through defenses like a hot knife through butter.

“All of our players tried their hardest,” Manshadi said. “We gave up a lot of big plays on stupid mistakes. At the beginning, we were doing well. We were fired up, but then we started losing it after that.”

The Lightning held on through a little more than a quarter, as Manshadi burst up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:09 remaining in the second quarter. After a successful two-point conversion run by Ayres, Sage Hill had an 8-7 lead.

But St. Margaret’s rattled off 21 unanswered points to take a 28-8 halftime lead, and fired away in the second half for 28 more points.

A halfback toss from Steffien to Garrett Brown, just minutes after Sage Hill took the lead, got the scoring spree started for St. Margaret’s.

The athletic Tartans, also keyed by 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver Evan Guerrero -- who’s a basketball player during the winter season -- ran up, down and around the Lightning.

Still, the hosts were surprised at what Sage Hill threw at them early in the game.

“This is a good football team,” Tartans Coach Brady Lock said of the Lightning. “We were concerned coming in and I think those two running backs [Manshadi and Ayres] are as good as anyone we’ve faced. They played very inspired tonight.”

Manshadi and Ayres kept Sage Hill alive early, as the Lightning responded to St. Margaret’s first touchdown with a 16-play, 70-yard drive capped with Manshadi’s run.

Sage Hill converted three fourth downs on the drive, showing determination to battle with the best.

On a critical fourth-and-seven from the Tartans’ 22, sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee let loose a pass a split-second before getting drilled, and connected with Manshadi for a first down.

Ayres plunged ahead for six yards, and then Manshadi went the rest of the way for six points and the lead.

“We did have some good offensive line blocking,” Monarch said. “We moved the ball pretty decently on them on the ground. We had a couple penalties that took us out of some plays, and some turnovers, but I wasn’t overly displeased with our offensive line.

“I think that’s our biggest positive. Offensively, I think the line worked really hard.”

But the Tartans’ line also worked hard and benefited from some size and athletic mismatches, as the Lightning gave up four big plays on defense to allow touchdowns.

Steffien scored on runs of 57, 10 and 55 yards, and threw his touchdown pass to Brown for 38 yards. Edgcomb scored on runs of 49 and 6 yards.

But the Lightning could have a chance for redemption if the two meet in the postseason.