DOWNEY - The Downey High School football team improved to 1-2 last Friday night with a convincing 41-13 win against Locke of Los Angeles at Downey.

The Vikings wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. Downey scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and led 28-0 as the quarter came to a close. Each team scored a touchdown and extra point in the second quarter and Downey took a 35-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Downey outscored Locke 6-0 in the third quarter and led 41-6 as the fourth quarter started. Locked added a late touchdown to cut the score to 41-13 but the damage had already been done. Downey won their first game of the season in dominating fashion.

Viking quarterback Pedro De anda completed 14/22 pass attempts for 219 yards and one touchdown. The Downey rushing attack was led by Antonio Ruiz’s 13 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns and Jayden Hollis’ four carries for 64 yards and one touchdown.

The Viking receiving corps were led by Xander Orozco’s five catches for 96 yards, Kevin Caldwell’s three catches for 25 yards and Jayden Hollis’ one catch for 34 yards and one touchdown. The Downey defense was led by Andrew Garcia’s six solo and six assisted tackles, Mario Gonzalez’s four solo and six assisted tackles, Justin Sanchez’s five solo and two assisted tackles and Aiden Chapman’s three solo and four assisted tackles.

Coach Williams, his staff and players have a bye this week before they host Alemany at Downey on September 20th. The upcoming bye week will serve as an excellent opportunity to rest sore players and get injured players healthy again.

WARREN FOOTBALL: The Warren High School football team improved to 2-0 last Friday night with a convincing 48-6 win at Huntington Park.

The Bears scored early and often as the Spartans struggled to move the ball on offense and struggled to keep the Bears out of the endzone on defense.

Warren raced out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Bears scored another 27 points in the second quarter and led 48-0 going into the locker room at halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter and Huntington Park scored a late touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it a 48-6 game.

The damage had already been done and Warren remained unbeaten. There were no offensive or defensive stats available at press time.

The Bears have scored an impressive 92 points in their first two games which gives them a two- game average of 46 points per game. Warren’s defense has also been stingy giving up a total of 33 points in two games for an average of 16.5 points per game.

Interestingly, the Bears have only given up 14 points in the first half of their two games. Both of these touchdowns came in the second quarter of the St. Anthony’s game two weeks-ago. These stats tell the reader many back-up players are being given opportunities to play in the second quarter and second half of games.

The Bears will play a 2-0 Culver City team later tonight at Warren. The Centaurs defeated West Torrance at West Torrance two weeks-ago 56-26 and defeated Peninsula at Peninsula 60-21 last week. Coach Pearson, his staff and players are all looking to improve to 3-0 this season after getting a win against Culver City tonight.

WARREN GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY: The Warren High School girls’ cross country team will be traveling to New York this year to compete in the Manhattan Invitational on October 12.

In recent years, the Lady Bears have traveled to Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Palo Alto/San Francisco, California and Washington D.C.

The Warren High School coaching staff finds it important to expose their student-athletes to educational, cultural and social opportunities. This may help to explain why there are consistently over 75 girls in the cross-country program. Along with an inclusive approach, searching out developmental opportunities on and off the running course is of paramount important to Lady Bear success.

In an effort to off-set some of the expenses for this trip, the Warren High School ASB will be selling Community Discount Cards for $10 at the ASB Clerk’s Office in the front office. This card is packed with local vendors and merchants committed to the students of Warren High School.

Some vendors on these cards include: Chick-Fil-A, BJ’s Restaurant, Wing Stop, Subway, Burger City Grill, Marketplace Grill and Yogurtland to name a few. Thirty percent of the proceeds from this Community Discount Card will go towards the Warren High School Girls’ Cross-Country Program.

Whether an individual would like to purchase an individual card or purchase multiple cards for friends, family or staff, no contribution is too small. Feel free to purchase or donate through the ASB Clerk’s Office (562-869-7303 Ext. 5816) or send an e-mail to Coach Waldron at jwaldron@dusd.net.

Good luck to the Bears this cross-country season. Donating to the Lady Bear program is an investment in this community.

DOWNEY GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: The Downey High School girls’ volleyball team currently has an overall record of 5-3 and began San Gabriel Valley League play on Thursday against Gahr (score unavailable at press time).

The Lady Vikings are scheduled to host Paramount at Downey on September 17th and will travel to cross-town rival Warren on September 26th for the first of their two scheduled matches.

Coach McCarthy, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play and making another run at a league championship and C.I.F. Division 4 postseason playoff spot.

The Lady Vikings were defeated by Xavier Prep of Palm Springs 3-0 in the third round of the C.I.F. Division 4 playoffs.

WARREN BLOOD DRIVE: Warren High School will be hosting its biannual-blood drive on Wednesday, September 18.

There will be a mobile blood bus in the front parking lot taking donors from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If an individual wants to donate blood, come by and donate.

Walk-ins are invited but making an appointment is strongly encouraged. Please enter the Warren High School parking lot on Paramount Blvd.

Any questions or scheduling of appointments regarding the donation of blood may be directed to noelgomez22@gmail.com. Warren High School invites you to help save a life and donate blood.