Football: Lightning handle Huskies
YORBA LINDA — The Sage Hill School football team took advantage of some long runs and a consistently short field to take care of nonleague host Fairmont Prep, 42-20, Friday at Yorba Linda High.
Sage Hill (1-1), which produced minus-six yards rushing in its season-opening loss to Calvary Chapel, rolled up 238 yards rushing and 170 more passing to earn its first win of the season, the first for interim coach Tom Kirchmeyer.
Senior running back Beau Roth amassed 151 yards on just seven rushing attempts, including a pair of touchdowns, while senior quarterback CJ McCord completed 11 of 16 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns.
The Lightning benefited from two solid kickoff returns and another long interception return, all by senior Vince Wetmore, to set up three touchdowns against the Huskies (1-1).
Wetmore bolted 38 yards with the opening kickoff to set up a nine-play, 51-yard touchdown drive. His 35-yard kickoff return on Sage’s next possession, paved the way for a four-play, 53-yard scoring strike.
Fairmont Prep, using an explosive running game of its own, tied the score, 14-14, on the second play of the second quarter.
But the Lightning produced the game’s next 21 points to take control.
Roth, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards last fall to earn first-team All-Academy League honors, had only three carries for two yards in the 2014 opener. And Roth was lined up at receiver the entire first quarter, before assuming his familiar spot in the backfield to start the second quarter Friday.
He burst through a hole for a 46-yard gain on his first carry and added runs of 42 and 41 yards on his way to an impressive night that included scoring jaunts of seven and five yards. He also produced 38 yards on his lone reception to set up the visitors’ first touchdown of the second half that put them up, 28-14.
McCord threw touchdown passes of 16 and 24 yards to senior Zach Burns. The returning first-team all-league honoree also connected with junior Jake Fisher on an eight-yard scoring toss, and found Wetmore for a four-yard touchdown pass to round out an efficient evening.
Burns finished with four receptions for 70 yards, while Fisher had four catches for 57 yards to supply balance to a running game that did most of its damage between the tackles.
Fairmont Prep, coached by former Corona del Mar High offensive coordinator Fred Romo, displayed some effective offense of its own, led by senior Lionell Wiggins, who produced 138 yards on 22 rushing attempts and 39 more yards on four receptions.
But a string of seven fumbles, all either on errant shotgun snaps or bobbled snaps that appeared to be on target, the aforementioned interception, some untimely penalties, and an increasingly effective Sage Hill defense, helped the Lightning pull away.
Sage Hill needed just three plays to answer the Huskies’ tying touchdown early in the second quarter, as Roth capped the 56-yard quick strike with a seven-yard scoring run with 10:25 left in the opening half.
Sage turned the Huskies away in the red zone on the hosts next two possessions, defending fourth-down passes from its own 18-yard line and its own nine, respectively, to maintain control.
Sage’s defense also held on downs near midfield after the Huskies took the second-half kickoff and Wetmore returned an interception 42 yards to the Fairmont Prep 23-yard line to set up the score that produced a 21-point lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
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Sage Hill 42, Fairmont Prep 20
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Sage Hill 14 - 7 - 14 - 7 — 42
Fairmont Prep 6 - 8 - 6 - 0 — 20
FIRST QUARTER
SH - Burns 16 pass from C. McCord (Strelow kick), 7:46.
FP - Wiggins 8 run (kick failed), 6:37.
SH - Wetmore 4 pass from C. McCord (Strelow kick), 5:58.
SECOND QUARTER
FP - Chatman 14 pass from Gines (Chatman pass from Gines), 11:47.
SH - Roth 7 run (Strelow kick), 10:25.
THIRD QUARTER
SH - Fisher 8 pass from C. McCord (Strelow kick), 8:34.
SH - Burns 24 pass from C. McCord (Strelow kick), 4:45.
FP - Wiggins 5 run (pass intercepted), 2:26.
FOURTH QUARTER
SH - Roth 5 run (Strelow kick), 11:53.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
SH - Roth, 7-151, 2 TDs.
FP - Wiggins, 22-138, 2 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
SH - C. McCord, 11-16-0, 170, 4 TDs.
FP - Gines, 6-16-1, 67, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
SH - Burns, 4-70, 2 TDs; Fisher, 4-57, 1 TD.
FP - Wiggins, 4-39.