Sage Hill forced to adjust

Saddleback Valley Christian High quarterback Brendan Chambers will give the Sage Hill School Lightning all it can handle when the teams meet tonight at 7 at JSerra High in San Juan Capistrano.

Sage Hill will counter with new offensive and defensive looks, but not all of them are necessarily by choice.

The Lightning will have to change things up following an injury to senior running back-linebacker Don Ayres, who suffered a shoulder separation during last week’s 24-13 win against St. Genevieve.

Ayres will likely be sidelined at least two weeks, Lightning Coach Tom Monarch said. In his absence, juniors Tom Multari and Max Torres will fill in at running back.

Multari has already shown he’s up to the task on defense, getting a key fumble recovery and interception late in the St. Genevieve game.

“Our offense kind of revolved around Don, so a lot of the kids are carrying the weight on their shoulders,” Monarch said. “But these are games that the younger kids should dream of. It’s their turn to step up to the plate. “

Ayres’ absence, along with Chambers’ shifty style at quarterback, has also caused Monarch to change around his defense. He plans to start Torres, Michael Higgins, Joey Puishys, Stuart Palley and Dan Kernan on Sage Hill’s defensive line.

Higgins and Torres didn’t start on the line against St. Genevieve, while Puishys moves from defensive end to tackle.

“They have a wide-open offense, so we’re using a wide-open defense,” Monarch said. “The game plan is to corral Chambers. You’re not going to shut that kid out, but we’re going to try to force him to use other players to beat us.”

Saddleback Valley’s formidable offensive line gives Chambers room to operate. The Warriors have three linemen — tackles Graham Hiller and Jordan Charnley-Holmes and guard Garrett Sammons — listed at 260 pounds or more.

“We’ve got to raise the bar this week,” Monarch said. “If we don’t, this team will pound us.”

Chambers had a big game in Saddleback Valley’s 33-14 win over Brethren Christian last week, throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 151 yards and two more scores.

But Sage Hill kept him mostly at bay last year’s 32-19 Lightning victory. In that game, Chambers rushed for just 19 yards.

Sage Hill will also likely have to improve on its six turnovers from last week. Monarch said that would come with time.