Lightning ousted in 23-8 loss

SAN MARINO — It won’t go down as the game Braden Ross remembers when he looks back on his high school football career because of the result.

The Sage Hill School senior receiver caught 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, most in double coverage, all with a defender four inches taller and 25 pounds heavier, as the Lightning came up short, losing, 23-8, to Maranatha at San Marino High Friday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs.

Of the Lightning’s 15 first downs against the Minutemen, eight were by way of catches from Ross. Five of the first downs came when Sage Hill need 10 or more yards and four times he converted on third downs.

“I was able to use my speed to get around them,” said Ross, who said he will play football for Trinity College in Connecticut next year. “When I line up, I’m looking for if it is bump-and-run or soft coverage and what move I can do to get open. My favorite is the quick juke inside.”

As for favorite passes of the night, Ross had a plethora to select from. He caught a 31-yard fade pass over the shoulder with the 6-foot-2 defender draped on him and out fought and out jumped the same defender for an eight-yard touchdown pass.

Ross caught a pass off every route imaginable in a game in which Sage Hill Coach Tom Monarch planned on using him to his fullest.

“I didn’t know we had that many routes in the playbook,” Monarch said. “He was phenomenal tonight. He turned into one of the best receivers in Orange County.”

Against a tough defense that garnered Maranatha the No. 2 ranking in the final regular-season poll, senior tailback Don Ayres rushed for 48 yards on nine carries with a torn labrum.

“It’s OK because I’ve got my big brace, my bullet-proof armor,” Ayres joked.

But there were mixed emotions for Ayres like the other seven seniors on the Sage Hill roster.

“We had a lot of new players on our team this year,” Ayres said. “We grew up together. It was fun being a leader out here for them. It has been a great season. We had our ups and downs. The games have been fun. We’ve had a tough season, but our effort brought us closer together.”

Senior lineman Stuart Palley said it was tough ending his high school career, having played football since he was 12.

“It took me a while to stop crying,” Palley said. “Honestly, I feel bad for anyone who never got the opportunity to play football.”

Palley said he came a long way from the freshman who was put into a game against St. Margaret’s and ran the wrong way, nearly getting knocked cold in the process, to forcing a fumble against St. Geneveve, which led to the game-winning touchdown by Ross.

“That was my favorite play of the year,” Ross said of his game-winning grab. “We had a lot of fun this year, but we were serious when we had to.”

Maranatha scored nine points off bad snaps to the punter, but Sage was at the four-yard line with nearly two minutes remaining and trailing, 23-8. Monarch lamented all the missed opportunities, but was proud that his team played well against a tough opponent.

“We’ve been a scrappy team all year,” Monarch said. “The fact that we were in the game at the end makes it enjoyable as a coach. They are a gutsy team that never gives up. Coaches like to say that and I’ve said it in the past about teams because it sounds good and parents like to hear it. But this team legitimately never gave up.”