Downey offense sputters

DOWNEY - The Downey High School football team traveled to Fountain Valley last Friday night to take on a Baron team who also had a 2-1 record and lost 24-10.The Vikings, who were ranked #6 in the C.I.F. Southeast Division poll and 9th in the Long Beach Press Telegram area poll before the game, found themselves down early and trailed 17-0 at halftime. With the loss, Downey now has a 2-2 record and will host the 2-1 Oxnard Yellowjackets Friday evening at home. The upcoming game against Oxnard represents the midway point of the regular season for Downey. The Vikings will have a bye on Sept. 28,and start league play against cross-town rival Warren at Downey on Oct. 5. Downey was able to move the ball against the Fountain Valley defense but had a tough time getting the ball in the endzone. Downey amassed close to 400 yards of total offense in a statistically balanced game. Quarterbacks Jorge Reyna and Conor Hill combined to complete 13/25 passes for 220 yards to five Viking receivers with one interception. Jeremy Villa caught five passes for 71 yards, Tristan Esparza caught three passes for 85 yards, Jacob Cook caught two passes for 26 yards, Justin Huff caught two passes for 23 yards and Jonathan Swindell caught one pass for 15 yards. Coming into this game against the Barons, the Viking offense had averaged 27 points a game. The Viking rushing attack was led by Justin Huff's 143 yards on 22 carries, including the Viking touchdown, and Jorge Reyna's five carries for 12 yards. Mario Galvan connected on one of two field goal attempts to score the other three points for Downey. The Viking defense was led by Miguel Esquitin's five solo tackles and eight assists, Jeremy Villa's four solo tackles and six assists and Anthony Florido's four tackles and three assists.

********** Published: September 20, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 23