High school football season only 2 weeks away

DOWNEY – The Warren High School football team has been busy preparing for the start of the 2017 football season. Warren will kick off their 2017 season when they host Don Lugo of Chino on Friday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. Don Lugo defeated Warren last season at Don Lugo 18-0.

The Bears finished last season with an overall record of 2-7-1 and were 2-3 in S.G.V.L. play. Warren did not qualify for postseason play. The Conquistadores finished last season with an overall record of 10-3 and were 5-0 in Mt. Baldy League play. Don Lugo was defeated by Burbank 44-14 in the third round of the C.I.F. Division 8 playoffs.

The Bears finished last season ranked 3862nd nationally and 282nd in California while Don Lugo finished last season ranked 3128th nationally and 232nd in California. Last year’s game was a bit of a grind before Don Lugo finally put the game away. The Bears have been working hard this offseason in hopes of getting a different result this year.

The Bears have several key returners coming back from last season. Junior quarterback Chris Venegas and junior wide receiver Robbie Colenzo will be two of those catalysts looking to get things going for the upstart Bears. Both players return bigger, faster and stronger from a season ago with more experience and skill under their belts. 

Head coach Raul Lara, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2017 football season.

■ The Vikings will be hosting Orange Lutheran next Friday night, Aug. 18, in a scrimmage scheduled for 6 p.m. 

This scrimmage will be an excellent opportunity for head coach Jack Williams and his staff to make any last minute changes and fine tune his team in preparation for their season opener against Santa Margarita on August 25th.

The Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 10-2 and were 5-0 in S.G.V.L. play. Downey was eliminated by Charter Oak 35-21 in the second round of the C.I.F. Division 4 playoffs. Santa Margarita finished last season with an overall record of 7-5 and were 2-3 in Trinity League play. The Eagles were eliminated by St. John Bosco 54-14 in the second round of the C.I.F. Division 1 playoffs. 

Downey did not play Santa Margarita last year so this is the first meeting between the two schools.

Downey finished last season ranked 890th nationally and 83rd in California while Santa Margarita finished last season ranked 101st nationally and 12th in California. Coach Williams sees this game as an intriguing matchup due to Santa Margarita’s strong finish last year and the fact that so many players are returning from that team. 

This first game of the season will certainly be a test for Downey. The Vikings will be led on offense by junior quarterback Kijjon Foots and senior running back Baraq Ross. 
Coach Williams, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of the 2017 football season. 

■ St. John Bosco finished last season with an overall record of 13-2 and were 4-1 in Trinity League play. St. John Bosco defeated Mater Dei 42-28 in the C.I.F. Division 1 championship game and then went on to defeat Concord De La Salle 56-33 in the state championship game at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. 

The Braves finished last season ranked 5th in the Xcellent poll, 2nd in the national poll and 1st in California.

The Braves will travel to St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida for their season opener on Friday, August 25th, at 7:00 p.m. St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Plant High School of Florida 45-6 in the Class 7A state championship game last season. The Raiders then went on to defeat Bingham High School of South Jordan, Utah 33-25 in a national playoff game. 

The Raiders finished last season with an overall record of 13-2 and were 2-0 in District play. St. Thomas Aquinas finished last season ranked 6th in the Xcellent poll, 7th in the national poll and 2nd in Florida. 

The matchup between these two schools certainly presents an intriguing challenge. Both teams return several key players at key positions. St. John Bosco will have athletes all over the field on offense and defense as will St. Thomas Aquinas. Quarterback Re-al Mitchell, FS/WR Jaiden Woodbey  and RB/OLB Demetrious Flowers are just three names to watch out for the Braves this fall. 

Coach Jason Negro, his staff and players are all looking forward to kicking things off against St. Thomas Aquinas, in Florida, on August 25th and defending their C.I.F. Division 1 and state championship titles.

■ Former Warren High School standout cross country and track and field athlete Daniella Moreno competed at the World Long Distance Mountain Championships in Premana, Italy last Saturday and finished 21st overall and was the fourth American female to finish. Moreno finished in a time 4:31:12.

Kasie Enman of Huntington, Vermont was the first American woman to finish. Enman finished second overall in a time of 3:57:30. Addie Bracie of Boulder, Colorado finished second for the American women and was sixth overall in a time of 4:07:20. Kristi Spravzoff of Flagstaff, Arizona finished third for the American women and was 20th overall in a time of 4:28:11. Anita Ortiz of Eagle, Colorado finished fifth for the American women and was 26th overall in a time of 4:40:35. 

The race was 32 kilometers long with 8,000 feet of climbing and descending. There were 16 teams of five men and ten teams of five women competing. The fastest men’s individual time was Petro Mamu of Eritrea in 3:12:52 and the fastest women’s individual time was Silvia Rampazzo of Italy in 3:56:45.

Team medals for the men saw Italy win the gold, the United States win the silver and the Czech Republic win the bronze. Team medals for the women saw Italy win the gold, the United States win the silver and Romania win the bronze.

When asked to describe the course in one word Moreno said it was “ruthless.” Moreno went on to say, “It was a big eye opener for me. I went in thinking I’d take advantage of the downhills, and after rolling my ankle about three miles in my game plan changed and it became an uphill race.” 

Moreno went on to say, “overall it was a great experience. I love racing on teams. I haven’t done that since college. It keeps you going for the team.”