After bye weeks, Downey and Warren prepare to open league play

DOWNEY -- The Warren High School football team had their bye last week and will begin S.G.V.L. play when they host Lynwood Friday at Justice Stadium. 

The Bears are currently 4-1 and on a modest four-game win streak. The Bears were defeated by Don Lugo at home, 37-36, in week one but rebounded to beat Kaiser, 45-10, in week two, Buena Park, 51-20, in week three, Lakewood, 20-12, in week four, and St. Paul, 29-28, in week five.

The Warren offense has averaged 267.2 yards passing per game this season and 147.8 yards on the ground.Bear quarterback Chris Venegas has completed 83 of 130 pass attempts for 1,336 yards and has thrown 16 touchdown passes with only one interception. 

Venegas also has 34 carries for 166 yards with one touchdown and has an impressive quarterback rating of 134.5. 

The Bear receiving corps have been led by Robbie Colenzo’s 22 receptions for 369 yards and three touchdowns, Desmond Carnes’ 17 receptions for 330 yards and four touchdowns and Joseph Vargas’ 16 receptions for 262 yards and four touchdowns.

Nikko Fiero-Tuala has led the Bear rushing attack with 62 carries for 301 yards and two touchdowns, along with Justin Mendoza’s 32 carries for 195 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bear defense has been led by tackling machine Cam’ron Chatman’s 31 solo and 20 assisted tackles, J.T. Herrin’s nine solo and 16 assisted tackles and Joseph Vargas’ 14 solo and ten assisted tackles. 

Coach Lara, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of San Gabriel Valley League play and competing for a league title and playoff spot.
 

■ The Downey High School football team had their bye last week and will begin S.G.V.L. play when they host Paramount tonight. 

The Vikings are currently 4-1 and also on a four-game win streak. The Vikings were defeated by Santa Margarita at home 56-0 in week one, defeated Hart at College of the Canyons 42-35 in week two, defeated Burbank at Burbank 35-7 in week three, defeated San Pedro at San Pedro 56-42 in week four and defeated Santa Fe at home 54-0 in week five.

The Downey offense has averaged 214.2 yards passing per game this season and 272.8 yards rushing per game. Viking quarterback Kijjon Foots has completed 64 of 95 pass attempts for 1,071 yards and has thrown 8 touchdown passes with only two interceptions. Foots also has 35 carries for 277 yards with three touchdowns and has an impressive quarterback rating of 124.5. 

The Viking receiving corps have been led by Christopher Atkins’ 25 receptions for 469 yards and five touchdowns and Nicholas Whitney’s 19 receptions for 292 yards and three touchdowns. The Viking rushing attack has been led by Baraq Ross’ 87 carries for 762 yards and nine touchdowns. 

The Viking offensive trio of quarterback Kijjon Foots, wide receiver Christopher Atkins and running back Baraq Ross have certainly been one of the most explosive in the area. As this trio goes, so goes Downey’s offense and scoring.

The Viking defense has been led by Nicholas Whitney’s 24 solo and 16 assisted tackles, Malcom Perry’s 21 solo and 13 assisted tackles and Jack Chapman’s 19 solo and 14 assisted tackles.

Coach Williams, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of San Gabriel Valley League play and defending their league title.

■ The DCC football team was narrowly defeated by Sage Hill of Newport Beach at Downey High School last Saturday night 35-34. With the loss, the Grizzlies are now 2-2. With the win, Sage Hill improved to 6-0. 

The Grizzlies defeated the Lighthouse Christian Saints 48-18 on September 16 at Downey High School. The win against Lighthouse Christian was the second win of the season for the Grizzlies. DCC will play Lucerne Valley (0-5) at Lucerne Valley tonight.

Through three games, DCC is averaging 84.3 yards passing per game and 164.3 yards rushing per game. Grizzly quarterback Jacob Escalante has completed 18 of 46 pass attempts for 253 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Escalante has also carried the ball 22 times for 132 yards and has scored one touchdown. Jacob Escalante’s quarterback rating is 93.8.

The Grizzly receiving corps have been led by Andrew Rangel’s 11 receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns and Carlos Fuentes’ four receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

The DCC rushing attack has been led by Luke Manriquez’s 29 rushes for 185 yards and two touchdowns and David Zarate’s eight rushes for 43 yards and one touchdown.

The DCC defense has been led by Carlos Fuentes’ 40 solo and 13 assisted tackles, Andrew Rangel’s 24 solo and 14 assisted tackles and Luke Manriquez’s 21 solo and 11 assisted tackles.

Coach Nuno, his staff and players are all looking forward to league play and qualifying for postseason play. DCC did not compete in postseason play last season.

■ The first rotation of middle school sports concluded this week and six city championships were up for grabs in football and girls’ volleyball. Results from Monday’s games were updated and included in this article. Final game scores on Wednesday were unavailable at press time. 

In 8th grade football, Doty, Griffiths and Stauffer are all 3-2 and Sussman is 1-4. In 7th grade football, Stauffer is 5-0, Sussman is 3-2, Doty is 2-3 and Griffiths is 0-5. In 6th grade football, Stauffer is 5-0, Doty is 3-2, Griffiths is 2-3 and Sussman is 0-5.

In 8th grade girls’ volleyball, Doty is 5-0, Griffiths is 3-2 and Stauffer and Sussman are 1-4. In 7th grade girls’ volleyball, Griffiths is 5-0, Doty is 3-2, Sussman is 2-3 and Stauffer is 0-5. In 6th grade girls’ volleyball, Doty is 5-0, Griffiths is 4-1, Sussman is 1-4 and Stauffer is 0-5.

The second rotation of middle school sports will feature boy’s volleyball and girl’s soccer. Tryouts for these teams will begin next week at their respective school sites. The third rotation will feature boy’s and girl’s basketball and boy’s soccer. The fourth rotation will feature baseball and softball and the fifth and final rotation will feature boy’s and girl’s track and field.

Each middle school sports rotation features six games. One game is played at home and the other game is played away. The lone exception is track and field. In track and field, each school has one dual meet against each of the other schools and there is a city championship meet in which all schools compete against each other to determine city championships.