Raul Lara resigns as Bears football coach

DOWNEY – Raul Lara has resigned as Warren High School head football coach after five seasons of coaching the Bears.

The Bears finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 8-4 and a San Gabriel Valley League record of 4-1.

They defeated Crescenta Valley, 52-47, in the first round and were then eliminated by Northview in the quarterfinal round of the C.I.F. Division 7 playoffs.

The former coach at Long Beach Poly, Lara took over a program that was winless the previous two seasons and 1-28-1 the previous three seasons.

During his tenure, Lara accumulated an overall record of 29-23-1 and a S.G.V.L. record of 14-11.

The Bears were 6-4 overall and 2-3 in league play in 2017, 2-7-1 overall and 2-3 in league play in 2016, were 8-3 overall and 4-1 in league play in 2015 and were 5-5 overall and 2-3 in league play in 2014.

The Bears qualified for postseason play twice and were 1-2 in those games. Warren was a S.G.V.L. tri-champion with Dominguez and Downey (4-1) in 2015 and finished second (4-1) this past season behind eventual league champion Paramount (5-0).

Lara was 2-3 against cross-town rival Downey with wins in 2015 (23-6) and 2018 (48-28).

“Coach Lara has put Warren football back on the map and our student-athletes have found the renewed taste of success on the field and in the classroom,” said Warren High athletic director Samantha Miyahara.

DOWNEY GIRLS SOCCER: The Downey High School girls’ soccer team currently has an overall record of 6-4-4 and will begin S.G.V.L. play when they travel to Dominguez to face the Lady Dons later today.

The Lady Vikings competed in the North Orange County Classic Soccer Tournament over the Christmas Break December 27th-28th. Downey tied La Mirada at La Mirada 0-0 in their first game at 11:00 a.m. on December 27th and tied Oxnard at La Mirada 0-0 in their second game at 4:00 p.m. on the same day.

Downey defeated Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at La Mirada 1-0 in their third game on December 28th at 11:00 a.m. and were defeated by cross-town rival Warren at Warren 2-1 in their fourth and final game at 6:00 p.m. on the same day.

Interestingly, the score of the Downey/Warren game was tied 1-1 at halftime before the Bears added a second half goal to seal the win. The league contests between the two schools are certainly something to look forward to. The two schools are scheduled to meet at Warren on January 10th and again at Downey on January 28th. Warren will once again be the team to beat in San Gabriel Valley League competition.

The Lady Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 12-7-4 and were 7-2-1 in league play. Downey was defeated by Mayfair at Mayfair 3-0 in the first round of the C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs last season and look to make a deeper run in postseason play this season.

WARREN GIRLS BASKETBALL: The Warren High School girls’ basketball team currently has an overall record of 5-8 and will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when travel Lynwood to face the Lady Knights later Friday.

The Lady Bears competed in two tournaments over the Christmas Break. The first tournament was the Nike Tournament of Champions December 19th-22nd and the second tournament was the Larry Doyle Classic December 26th-29th.

The Lady Bears finished the Nike Tournament of Champions with a record of 1-3. Warren was defeated by Desert Ridge of Mesa, Arizona, 44-33 in their first game on December 19th, were defeated by Desert Mountain of Scottsdale, Arizona, 42-36 in their second game on December 20th, defeated Genesis Prep Academy of Post Falls, Idaho, 41-38 in their third game on December 21st and were defeated by Queen Creek of Arizona 42-34 in their fourth and final game on December 22nd.

Warren finished the Larry Doyle Tournament with a reported record of 2-1. The Lady Bears defeated Hawthorne 64-17 on December 26th, were defeated by Lakewood 65-28 on December 27th and defeated Edison 63-42 on December 28th. Warren played a fourth game against a to be determined opponent on December 29th but the result was not available at press time.

The Lady Bears were certainly busy the past two weeks. Coach Palmer, her staff and players will now turn their attention to league play and competing for a S.G.V.L. championship. Lynwood and cross-town rival Downey will once again be the teams to beat in league play.

DOWNEY GIRLS BASKETBALL: The Downey High School girls’ basketball team currently has an overall record of 13-4 and will begin San Gabriel Valley League play when they travel to Paramount to play the Lady Pirates later today.

Downey competed in the So Cal Holiday Prep Classic Tournament at Mt. Miguel in San Diego over the Christmas Break December 26th-29th. The Lady Vikings finished the tournament with a record of 2-2.

Downey was defeated by Rolling Hills Prep of San Pedro 52-48 in their first game on December 26th, defeated Clark of Las Vegas 52-25 in their second game on December 27th, defeated Mt. Miguel of Spring Valley 44-32 in their third game on December 28th and were defeated by Los Alamitos 48-29 in their fourth and final game on December 29th.

Coach Harris, his staff and players will now turn their attention towards league play. Lynwood was the 2018 S.G.V.L. champion and will once again be the team to beat this season. The Lady Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 26-7 and a league record of 8-2, behind eventual league champion Lynwood (23-8, 10-0), respectively.

Downey was defeated by Glendora 47-35 in the C.I.F Division 2A championship game and was then eliminated by Cathedral Catholic at Downey 50-48 in the second round of the C.I.F. Division 2 State Basketball Championship. Downey looks to compete for a league title and make another deep run in postseason competition.