Sage all but a lock for postseason

The High school football teams at Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor saw their league title dreams diminished by hard-fought losses, and Costa Mesa earned a nonleague win heading into Friday’s Orange Coast League opener against crosstown rival Estancia.

But Sage Hill might have made the biggest news by quietly all but clinching a CIF Southern Section Northeast Division playoff berth with its victory Saturday night.

The Lightning, who topped Academy League rival Brethren Christian, 35-21, at Ocean View High, are 2-0 in the five-team league, which is guaranteed three CIF playoff spots.

Sage can do no worse than 2-2 in league play, and has beaten the other two league teams that already have two losses.

Only a string of unlikely upsets and league tiebreakers that could leave Sage on the wrong end of a three-way tie for second with the Capistrano Valley Christian-St. Margaret’s loser and the Linfield Christian-Brethren Christian winner could present any obstacle to the Lightning’s third straight postseason appearance.

Corona del Mar fell to third place in the Pacific Coast League with its 26-20 loss to Laguna Hills Friday night at Mission Viejo High. Even worse, the Sea Kings have lost two-way star Erik Rask for the season, CdM Coach Dick Freeman said.

Freeman said an MRI on Rask’s right knee indicated the junior tailback and inside linebacker had a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Freeman said there it is also likely that Rask, who through seven games had 102 tackles (an average of nearly 15 per game) and is also the team’s leading rusher with 374 yards, has additional damage in the knee and will likely undergo surgery after initial swelling has gone down.

Here’s a team-by-team recap:

Coach Tom Monarch has praised the development of a young offensive line, but also praised his defense against Brethren Christian.

“Our O-line is creating some holes and our defense has stepped it up,” Monarch said.

Defensively, Monarch points to the linebacking corps of Don Ayres, Max Torres, Joey Puishys and Braden Ross as the catalysts.

Monarch said Puishys’ move from defensive end and Ayres’ shift from inside to outside ‘backer have solidified the defensive unit, particularly against the run.

Ayres and Torres are also workhorses on offense. Ayres rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, while Torres collected 119 rushing yards and one touchdown on 19 carries.

It’s the third triple-digit rushing performance of the season for Torres.

Saturday marked the second straight week both Ayres and Torres have rushed for at least 100 yards.

Sage Hill plays host to Inglewood-based Animo (0-8) Friday at 7 p.m. in its final nonleague game.

But after taking a 10-7 halftime lead, the team’s first halftime advantage of the season, his Mustangs (2-5) were convinced they could not only compete, but win.

“We saw on film that Cerritos is a pretty physical and fast team,” Osso said. “That can be a little intimidating and some of our kids might not be as confident as they could be.”

But other than an errant punt snap that set up Cerritos’ only touchdown, the Mustangs made no costly miscues.

Costa Mesa, which had 16 combined turnovers its first five games and has had at least one turnover in its first six contests, did not commit a turnover. What’s more, the Mustangs forced three Cerritos turnovers.

“We finally put together a full game,” Osso said. “And it’s nice timing.”

Osso also said the bye week that preceded Friday’s game helped the team recover from some nagging injuries.

The victory will obviously bolster the Mustangs’ confidence heading into Friday’s Battle for the Bell at Newport Harbor High.

Freeman, however, said Kevin Rask could be back for Friday’s crucial league clash with visiting Irvine (6-2, 2-0 in league) at Orange Coast College.

CdM (5-3, 1-1) needs a win to retain its league title hopes. A victory would also all but assure Freeman’s squad one of the league’s three guaranteed postseason berths.

Sophomore Noah Molnar had an interception while filling in for Sands, while junior Hunter Alder and sophomore Dutch Lamons filled in the Rask brothers at linebacker.

Freeman said Dan DiChiro, who has sparkled at noseguard, could be moved to linebacker next week to fortify what has been the strength of a solid defense.

To help alleviate the loss of Erik Rask in the offensive backfield, Freeman said his staff may alter some things.

Senior Tom Folks, who stepped in Friday, is now the primary name at tailback, where the depth chart was already lean since one-time starter Will Brown, a senior, recently left the team.

Freeman lamented seven dropped passes against Laguna Hills (5-1, 1-0), but credited the Hawks’ defensive effort.

Brinkley said with junior tailback Ben Frazier sidelined with an ankle problem, he will look to a host of untested options, rather than relying on senior fullback Charles Vickery to handle the rushing load.

Vickery has filled in admirably the last two weeks for Frazier, but Brinkley believes the physical demands of being the featured ballcarrier would take away from Vickery’s effectiveness on defense at noseguard.

Brinkley said he will look at senior Ben Buttolph, junior Woody Yokoyama and sophomore Michael Helfrich as a possible starter at tailback this week, should Frazier not be sufficiently recovered.

Brinkley said uncertainty in the kicking game (the Tars are 11 for 15 this season on conversion kicks, and their two field goals are from 24 and 27 yards) as well as a suspect performance in practice, helped him eschew thoughts of attempting a 34-yard field goal instead of going for it on fourth down before halftime.

“We tried some field goals from the 10-yard line the day before and we made less than 50%,” Brinkley said.

The Sailors (4-3, 1-1) meet Edison (5-2, 1-1) Friday at 7 at Huntington Beach High.