After pounding Fairmont Preparatory Academy 38-7 on Sept. 6, Sage Hill School’s varsity football team prepared to win again — this time against a tougher adversary.

The team played its hardest against Capistrano Valley Christian School on Sept. 13. At first the team stopped the opposition defensively, with 10 tackles from sophomore Jacob Fisher alone and 3 recovered fumbles.

But careless errors led to a 0-21 lead for Capistrano Valley Christian School by halftime. To make the situation worse, lineman senior Thomas Ficcadenti, tight end junior Kieran Mital and quarterback junior Keith McCord II were benched due to injuries.

With no other options, new faces stepped up to play, including sophomore Robert Rosoff who substituted for McCord.

The final score of the game was 7-42, with McCord scoring one touchdown in a 23 yard rush and junior Will Burns making a field goal.

The J.V. football team, determined to rebound from its Sept. 12 0-41 loss against Saddleback Valley Christian School, defeated Malibu High School 26-0, but not before overcoming injuries that plagued the already diminished team.

With 2 players taken out of the game, sophomore Barrington Valdez and freshman Spencer Bahrenburg rose to play new positions, with Valdez replacing center freshman Elijah Soto and Bahrenburg replacing running back freshman Miles McCord.

Sophomore Gabriel Gamboa played a killer game, recording one touchdown, two field goals and two PATs.

Other significant contributions included plays from freshman Caden Sheetz and sophomore Alfonso Corona.

The varsity football team will be back with a Sept. 20 game against Escondido Charter High School played at Orange Glen High School.  The J.V. football team’s Sept. 21 game against Escondido Charter was canceled.

This article was updated on Sept. 18 at 12:39 a.m. to include information about the canceled Sept. 21 J.V. boys’ football game against Escondido Charter High School.