Lightning travel to great lengths

Patrick Laverty

If there’s one lesson Sage Hill School’s football team should learn

by the end of Week 3, it’s how to play on the road.

The Lightning could be featured on the Travel Channel after

trekking to San Diego in Week 1, Cerritos last week and then back

south this week to take on Calipatria, located 130 miles east of San

Diego.

“We have to leave Wednesday,” Sage Hill Coach Tom Monarch said

jokingly about the Lightning’s nonleague game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

In actuality, it’s about a four-hour bus ride, but the long trip

should provide a more competitive atmosphere for Sage Hill, which has

started the season 0-2.

Both schools have played Midway Baptist this season, with similar

results. Sage Hill lost its opener to Midway Baptist, 48-15.

Calipatria (0-2-1) was defeated, 38-13, by Midway Baptist last week.

The Hornets lost to Antelope of Arizona, 30-0, in their opener, then

tied San Pasqual Valley, 0-0.

“It should be competitive,” Monarch said. “We’re two very similar

teams. We’re two basically, frosh-soph teams. We have very similar

size and very similar speed.”

The Lightning are lacking in size and speed this year, primarily a

result of having 16 freshmen and sophomores among their 26 players.

The youth has forced Monarch and his staff to focus on

fundamentals more than game plans, and it has showed in the results

the first two weeks of the season.

“In hindsight, they probably should have had a [junior varsity]

schedule,” Monarch said.

But after facing two older, more experienced teams in the first

two weeks, the schedule lightens up for Sage Hill in the coming

weeks. Most importantly, the Lightning will also play their first

home game, next week, against Fairmont.

Following that game, the Lightning will play host to Ribet

Academy, then have a bye week, followed by a home game against

Sherman Indian.

“I think it will be a decent stretch,” Monarch said. “At least, I

think it will be competitive.”

This week could determine just how competitive. A win against

Calipatria, which runs out of the I-formation on offense and sets up

in a four-four defense, would go a long way toward boosting the

confidence of the young Lightning players.