Defense may be key to Bears football this year

DOWNEY - The Warren High School football team continues to gear up for the fall season and the Bear defense is hoping to stop opposing offenses and give their own offense a shorter field to work with.A shorter field translates into more scoring opportunities. Bear coach Matt Seanez says that there are still a lot of position battles going on which are going to be decided during summer camp. There are two returning starters on defense. One is defensive back Daryl Donerson and the other is defensive linemen Clay Mitchell. Warren will be looking at a few players competing on both sides of the ball. The defensive line is a fluid situation right now and could see several young Bear players getting substantial playing time. Seniors Mike Avila and Ricky Vichot will certainly see time as will juniors George Wickens, David Zepeda and Christian Farran. At the outside linebacker position juniors Simon Figueroa and Alan Hernandez will see time while the inside linebacker position will feature seniors Jonathan Vauulu and Oscar Herrera. The secondary will feature Donerson, with Keenan Brooks on the opposite side, senior Michael San Angelo at strong safety and hard hitting Moses Alaniz at the free safety position. According to Bear coaches, this group is still gelling together as a cohesive unit. Alaniz and San Angelo are the most vocal leaders on the field while Vauulu and Herrera are growing into their roles. The defensive line will feature Clay Mitchell as a returning starter, Mike Avila who was a starting offensive lineman last year, Ricky Vichot who was also a starting offensive lineman last year, George Wickens who was on the J.V. squad last year, David Zepeda who was a Varsity reserve last year and Christian Farran, who was also a Varsity reserve last year. Outside linebacker Simon Figueroa was a Varsity reserve last year and Alan Hernandez is returning from an injury. Defensive back Daryl Donerson is a returning starter, Keenan Brooks was a Varsity reserve, Michael San Angelo played some defense last year but was mostly an offensive skill guy and Moses Alaniz was a Varsity reserve. The Warren coaching staff has been extremely impressed with the toughness of Moses Alaniz. His coaches say that he is the smallest guy out there on defense but delivers the biggest hits with his physical play. The coaches have also been impressed with the development of the Bear linebacking corp. The coaches are in agreement that the mood of the team is optimistic and looking forward to the season to start. The program has had a strong summer and have not been this far ahead of the curve in the previous two years as a team. Coach Seanez maintains that the players are excited for the pads to come on and to start two-a-days in camp. The coaching staff expects big things out of their Bear players this year and are continuing to work hard to get those things done.

********** Published: July 26, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 15