DOWNEY — The Downey High School boys’ basketball team kicked off their 2018-19 season last Friday night with a 58-48 win against Marina.

Downey took an early lead and led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Downey Vikings extended their lead in the second quarter by outscoring Marina’s Vikings 20-13. Downey led 34-20 going into the locker room at halftime.

Marina’s Vikings outscored Downey 12-10 in the third quarter and again 16-14 in the fourth quarter. The Downey’s Vikings lead proved too big to overcome and defeated Marina’s Vikings 58-48.

Downey was led by senior point guard Gene Cajigas. Cajigas was selected player of the game for his 17-point, six assist and three rebound performance.

Senior Omar Makhlouf also had an impressive game with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists and junior Armando Ramirez contributed with nine points and five rebounds.

Senior Brandon Garcia added eight points and four rebounds, junior Alec Lucatero had four points, three rebounds and one assist, and senior Tramaine Willis had two points, one rebound and one assist.

Downey is scheduled to play Huntington Beach on December 4th and Long Beach Jordan on December 5th in the Artesia Winter Classic. Downey is also scheduled to play Cerritos at the Staples Center on December 20th. The Vikings will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they travel to Paramount to play the Pirates on January 4th.

Downey finished last season with an overall record of 10-16 and a league record of 4-6.

WARREN BOYS BASKETBALL: The Warren High School basketball team kicked off their 2018-19 season on November 13th with a loss to Beckma, 59-46, in the Rumble for Rosecrans Tournament.

The Bears quickly rebounded and won their next four tournament games and finished the tournament winning four of the five games they played.

Warren defeated El Segundo on November 14, 48-34, then defeated Paramount, 57-45, on November 15th, then defeated King of Riverside, 47-43, on November 16th and finally defeated California High, 60-47, on November 17th.

The Bears are also scheduled to compete in the Orangewood Academy Tournament after the Thanksgiving Break, December 4-8. Warren will play Arroyo of El Monte on December 4th, Orangewood Academy on December 5th, Gardena on December 6th and Costa Mesa on December 8th. The Bears will also host the California Academy of Math and Science (CAMS) on December 19th at Warren.

Warren is also scheduled to play in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic Tournament over the Christmas Break, December 26-29. The Bears’ opponents will be determined based on the results of each game played.

Warren will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they travel to Lynwood to face the Knights on January 4th. The Bears finished last season with an overall record of 15-11 and a league record of 6-4.

DOWNEY SOCCER: The Downey High School boys’ and girls’ soccer seasons are getting underway. The fall sports seasons have concluded and the transition to the winter sports seasons are upon us.

The Downey boys’ soccer team will begin preseason play next Wednesday when they host Mission Viejo at Downey at 6:00 p.m.

The Vikings are scheduled to travel to Capistrano Valley on November 30th, scheduled to travel to Loyola on December 4th and scheduled to travel to Edison on December 7th. The Vikings will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they travel to Paramount to play the always tough Pirates on December 21st.

The Vikings finished last season as S.G.V.L. champions with an overall record of 15-8-4 and a league record of 7-1-2. Downey was defeated by Loyola of Los Angeles 2-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Division 1 playoffs.

The Downey High School girls’ soccer season will get underway when the Lady Vikings host San Gabriel Mission at Downey next Saturday, Dec. 1.

The Lady Vikings are scheduled to play West Covina at West Covina on December 5th, scheduled to host Long Beach Poly at Downey on December 7th and are scheduled to play two games on December 8th at Downey against Flintridge Prep of La Canada at 9:30 a.m. and against La Quinta at 12:40 p.m., respectively. Downey will begin league play when they host the Paramount Lady Pirates at Downey on January 2nd.

The Lady Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 12-7-4 and were 7-2-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play. Downey was eliminated by Mayfair in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs.

WARREN GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY: Warren High School’s girls cross country out performed end-of-season CIF (Top 16) ranked San Clemente, Dana Hills and Beckman at CIF Division 1 Finals.

The Bears were one of the most improved teams, gaining on five schools from last week’s Prelims, finishing 14th overall, and running (1:03) faster than the week before.

Improving most and making a substantial difference for Warren was Skye Gutierrez (19:24). She ran an all-time personal best and filled a void, keeping the Bears’ 5th scoring position close. She alone made the largest swing of points in Warren’s favor.

Top times went to Nadine Gomez (18:07) and Alicia Liera (18:28). Alicia improved by (:21) and ran a course-best personal record. Doing the same was Valeria Guerra (19:01). Arianna Cervantes (19:13) rounded out Warren’s top 5.

Warren’s team time (total 1:34:14, per runner average 18:50) is their second fastest on this course since its inception in 2015. They ran almost a full minute faster than last year.

WARREN BOYS CROSS COUNTRY: The Warren High School boys’ cross country team saw their season conclude last Saturday morning at the C.I.F. Division 1 Final in Riverside.

The boys’ Division 1 Final was run at 7:45 a.m. and the Bears finished in 20th place overall with a team score of 446. In cross country, the lowest score wins based on the order of finish of the top five runners from each school.

Great Oak took first place with 53 points, Dana Hills took second place with 96 points, West Ranch took third place with 135 points, Long Beach Poly took fourth place with 165 points and Crescenta Valley took fifth place with 183 points to round out the top five finishers, respectively.

Warren senior Antonio Munoz was the first Bear to finish in a time of 15:21.8. Munoz finished 48th overall. Junior Owen Franco was the second Bear to finish in a time of 15:43.4. Franco finished 86th overall. Junior Fabian Gomez was the third Bear to finish in a time of 15:59.5. Gomez finished 116th overall. Senior Alex Guardado was the fourth Bear to finish in a time of 15:59.6. Guardado finished 117th overall. Junior Gerardo Rubio was the fifth Bear to finish in a time of 16:04.6. Rubio finished 125th overall.

Seniors Andres Serna and Alfredo Santa were the sixth and seventh Bears to finish. Serna finished 152nd overall in a time of 16:16.8 and Santana finished 170th overall in a time of 16:36.7.