Lightning unstoppable

Rick Devereux

Three second-half possessions. Three second-half scores. That type of

efficiency propelled the Sage Hill School football team to a 31-6

nonleague victory over Viewpoint Friday.

The Lightning (4-1) have matched the win total from the previous

two seasons in a mere five games. Sage Hill followed its 3-6

inaugural campaign with a 1-8 record last year.

“It’s awesome. It’s a great accomplishment,” junior Keya Manshadi

said. “We’ve got a great crew of freshmen, [fullback] Don [Ayres] is

blocking well and our O-line is opening holes.”

Manshadi was a main reason for the dominating win. He rushed for

179 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, and also caught three

passes for 67 yards. All three receptions were for first downs,

including a 28-yarder that set up his 4-yard run to cap off the

Lightning’s first drive of the second half.

“Last week I had some dropped balls, so all this week I have been

working on catching the ball,” Manshadi said. “[Quarterback] Jamie

[McGee] threw perfect passes to me on the out and corner routes.”

Coach Tom Monarch said, “If high school football had a fantasy

league, he’d be my first pick. He’s a five-tool player: He’s a great

defender; he’s aggressive; he’s fast; he’s a good receiver; and he’s

a great runner.”

Manshadi was a catalyst on Sage Hill’s first drive of the game,

gaining 28 yards on three sweeps. When the Viewpoint (2-4) defense

would cheat to the outside to stop Manshadi, Ayres ran up the middle

on dives, including an 8-yard score to give the Lightning a 6-0 lead.

The point after failed.

Manshadi also produced on defense at cornerback. The Patriots were

driving at the start of the second quarter and decided to go for it

on a fourth-and-seven on the Sage Hill 35. A pass to a receiver near

the 5 was batted down by Manshadi to force a turnover on downs, even

though he had a clear shot at the interception.

“That’s knowing the sport of football,” Manshadi said. “I’ll save

the glory of an interception for better field position any day.”

The Patriots tied the score on their next possession when Daniel

Selarz threw a fade to Robbie Silverman. The pass floated over a

leaping Sage Hill defender, Silverman caught the ball near the 5 and

crossed the goal line for a 32-yard score. The kick was blocked.

It took three offensive plays for the Lightning to regain the

lead. Manshadi returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to the Sage Hill

42 and two Ayres dive plays gained 12 yards. A sweep to the right

looked like it was going to be stuffed for a short gain, but Manshadi

broke a tackle, cut inside, then broke back to the outside and raced

up the sideline for a 46-yard score. McGee ran to the right for the

two-point conversation and Sage Hill’s 14-6 halftime lead.

The Lightning drove 80 yards on 10 plays in 4:45 to start the

third quarter, capped off by Manshadi’s 4-yard run to give Sage Hill

a commanding 21-6 advantage.

Sage Hill held onto the ball for 4:02 at the end of third quarter

and start of the fourth, driving 61 yards on nine plays, culminating

with tight end Stephen Hancock recovering a fumble in the end zone.

“I was blocking on the sweep and saw the ball pop out and just

jumped on it,” Hancock said. “I didn’t know if [the referees] were

going to give me the touchdown or to [the runner].”

After the defense stopped a fourth-and-one on the Viewpoint 6, the

Lightning offense methodically worked the clock, putting together a

15-play drive that ate up 7:02. Amy Werblin kicked a 36-yard field

goal with 0:53 left in the game to seal the win.

“Some of our best defense has been long, sustained drives on

offense,” Monarch said. “We pride ourselves in wearing other teams

down.”

The Sage Hill offense had one running play lose yardage, and that

was because the runner slipped in the backfield. The Lightning racked

up 257 rushing yards. The Patriots total offense was 251 yards. The

Sage Hill defense stifled Viewpoint’s leading rusher, Jamie

Silverman, to 71 rushing yards.

“If we hold a team to under 100 yards rushing, we have a good

chance to win ball games,” Monarch said.