McGee shines in Sage triumph

NEWPORT COAST — The pertinent question is, at the end of the season, which list will be more impressive for Jamie McGee — the number of touchdowns he throws for, or the number of yards he racks up?

The Sage Hill School senior quarterback threw for 394 yards and five touchdowns in leading the Lightning to a 42-10 nonleague win over visiting Tri-City Christian of Vista on Friday night.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound McGee was 21 of 34 with no interceptions in helping lead the Lightning to a 3-0 start to the season. Tri-City fell to 0-3.

“This was a fantastic game,” Sage Coach Pete Anderson said. “It was the best game for us so far this year. As far as [McGee], he’s been great all four years for the team, so I don’t want to take the credit for that. I think [Quarterbacks Coach] Brad Gossen gets the credit for that.”

The receivers and offensive line could take some credit as well. The line provided McGee the time to connect with six different receivers, with senior Nick Witte hauling in nine passes for 194 yards and two scores. Senior wideout Michael Higgins added 111 yards receiving with one TD, while senior Preston Oklejas caught four passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns.

The abundance of receivers is not something McGee has had in the past, as he previously relied heavily on departed split end Braden Ross for the majority of his connections. Now, he can pick and choose.

It did take a little warming up for McGee to get the ball rolling, however.

The Lightning took an 8-0 lead into the second quarter following senior running back Max Torres’ one-yard dive, and then McGee took over. He connected on scoring passes of four, 41 and 34 yards within the last nine minutes of the half. The passes went to Oklejas, Higgins and Witte, respectively, as Sage took a commanding 30-0 lead into halftime.

“We definitely played the best in the first half,” Anderson said. “The offensive line really opened things up and allowed [McGee] to make some deep throws.”

The Lightning kept that momentum rolling right off the bat in the second half. On just the second play from scrimmage, McGee hit a streaking Witte along the sideline for 71 yards and a score, giving Sage a 36-0 lead.

McGee added his last touchdown with 2:10 remaining, hitting Oklejas for eight yards.

Defensively, the Lightning limited the Eagles’ most bruising and effective weapon — 210-pound back Daniel Giese — to 70 yards on 19 carries.

Junior linebackers Craig Jackson and Alex Lowe led the Lightning defense with numerous stuffs on Giese for no gain.

SAGE HILL 42, TRI-CITY CHRISTIAN 10

FIRST QUARTER

SH – Torres 1 run (Witte pass from McGee), 3:35.

SECOND QUARTER

SH – Oklejas 4 pass from McGee (Higgins run), 8:58.

SH – Higgins 41 pass from McGee (Higgins pass from McGee), 7:09.

SH – Witte 34 pass from McGee (kick failed), 3:35.

THIRD QUARTER

SH – Witte 29 pass from McGee (kick failed), 10:31.

TC – Giese 6 run (Lyon kick), 1:47.

FOURTH QUARTER

TC – Lyon 36 FG, 6:24.

SH – Oklejas 24 pass from McGee (kick failed), 2:10.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

TC – Giese, 19-70, 1 TD; Montano, 4-31; Luis, 2-0; Torkelson, 1-minus-8.

SH – Torres, 13-76, 1 TD; Higgins, 6-23; Multari, 4-16; McGee, 1-7; Ross, 1-2.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

TC – Torkelson, 11-26-1, 102.

SH – McGee, 21-34-0, 394, 5 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

TC – Smith, 5-67; Giese, 4-15; Montano, 2-20.

SH – Witte, 9-194, 2 TDs; Higgins, 5-111, 1 TD; Oklejas, 4-42, 2 TDs; Multari, 1-24; Torres, 1-13; Jackson, 1-10.