Lightning finds some answers, 17-14

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Entering this season, Sage Hill School football coach Tom Monarch had question marks dancing around in his head about his team.

Would the offensive line stand strong? Would the team be able to replace 12 graduated seniors from a squad that won the first CIF postseason game in the program’s history?

Add to that, star senior running back Don Ayres suffering a shoulder separation in the Lightning’s first game of the season last week.

Monarch’s concerns were put at ease Friday night at JSerra High, as running backs Max Torres and Tom Multari combined for 174 rushing yards to propel the Lightning to a 17-14 nonleague victory over host Saddleback Valley Christian.

Torres, a junior, bulldozed for 101 yards, while junior Multari sprinted for 73 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee added 44 yards rushing and a TD, and senior wideout Braden Ross darted for 37 yards on the ground.

The Lightning (2-0) totaled 255 yards on the ground, all in the absence of Ayres, who was expected to carry the load this year after rushing for more than 1,000 yards in 2004 and 2005.

“I think Max Torres really came up big tonight,” Monarch said. “And Tom Multari had some great runs. We really ran the clock and tried to keep their offense off the field. We had to have some guys step up tonight.”

Keeping the potentially potent Saddleback Valley Christian offense in check was key for the Lightning, who limited mobile quarterback Brendan Chambers to 15 yards rushing — one week after he racked up 151 yards on the ground against Brethren Christian.

Sage Hill held the Warriors to 43 total rushing yards on Friday.

The Lightning won their second straight game after beginning the season with a handful of question marks.

“I really didn’t know what to expect because we have a young team and we lost so many seniors,” Monarch said. “But I also knew that the kids coming up were more than capable of filling their shoes.... My goal is to get us primed and ready for league.”

Monarch said Ayres is scheduled to undergo an MRI today and his status will be known Tuesday. The upcoming bye week will provide more time for Ayres to heal.

But in the absence of the feature back Friday, Torres & Co. picked up the slack considerably.

“[Multari] stepped up and I tried to block harder than I’ve ever blocked before,” Torres said. “At first, with [Ayres] out, we were all kind of scared. But in practice, we just picked it up.”

McGee provided the first score for the Lightning on a one-yard plunge near the end of the first quarter. Senior kicker Alex Edelstein added a field goal in the second for a 10-0 lead, and Multari gave the Lightning their final points with a two-yard TD run in the third.

Chambers, who threw for 270 yards and three TDs in the Warriors’ opener against Brethren Christian, was held to 188 yards passing and one touchdown.

The Warriors fell to 1-1.