Sage lives in the present

A battle with top-ranked and undefeated St. Margaret’s High is awaiting Sage Hill School in its regular-season finale next week.

Before the Lightning can begin thinking about a game that could decide the Academy League title, Sage Hill will need to get past Capistrano Valley Christian tonight at 7 at San Clemente High and Lightning Coach Tom Monarch said that will not be a problem.

“It’s easy because Capistrano Valley is a very tough opponent,” Monarch said. “If we don’t play well Capistrano Valley will beat us.”

The Lightning (5-3, 2-0 in league) are ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Northeast Division, while the Eagles (4-4, 1-1 in league) are No. 10.

Having played on Friday and being based in San Juan Capistrano will make it easy for St. Margaret’s to attend the matchup and get a head start on preparing for the Lightning.

“I talked to Jason [Hitchens, the St. Margaret’s coach] today and they’ll be at the game,” Monarch said. “I even offered to buy him a hamburger, but since it’s a road game I can’t promise the quality will be as good.”

Monarch said next week’s opponent sitting in the stands will not be a distraction for his team.

“They’ll keep focused on the 100-yard hunk of grass,” Monarch said.

The Lightning are riding a three-game win streak, scoring a minimum of 14 points in each victory, after losing three in a row. Monarch said the continued improvement of the offensive line has been key along with not as many players being out with injuries.

“Our goal was to tighten up our fundamentals,” Monarch said.

The Lightning have still been hit with injuries, just not at the same level as before. Two-way starters junior Michael Higgins and junior Tom Multari (wide receiver-defensive back) will miss the game due to injury.

“Higgins [who plays receiver and defensive back] out is a tremendous blow,” Monarch said. “It’s better than four players being out two weeks ago. Part of staying healthy is luck and we just haven’t had any luck with injuries this year.”

With a small team, Monarch said there is pressure on most of the players to excel, but juniors tight end Preston Oklejas and offensive lineman and linebacker Joey Puishys have been pleasant surprises.

“Preston has really improved the past two weeks,” Monarch said. “Joey has had a real nice season. He’s going to be a real help to us down the stretch. Game by game he’s improving. It’s really evident in practice.”

The Lightning will continue to depend on their top players like seniors Don Ayres, running back-linebacker, and Braden Ross, receiver-cornerback, as well as junior quarterback-safety Jamie McGee. Monarch said he has been focusing more on McGee’s running in practice.

“He’s had great intensity on defense. The goal is to have intensity on offense,” Monarch said. “We’re going to focus on him running. It will help all of his game, his passing and his defense. He’s got to run it with intensity. He’s got great athletic ability to create fear in the opposition. He’s been letting them off the hook.”