Warren Football pulls off upset against La Serna

DOWNEY - The Warren High School football team stunned a previously unbeaten La Serna team in Whittier last Friday night 47-46. With the win the Bears improved to 3-2 on the season and with the loss the Lancers fell to 5-1. Warren will travel to Lynwood later tonight for their San Gabriel Valley League opener against the Knights.

In the Warren/La Serna game the Bears jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter. The Lancers answered right back in the second quarter and outscored the Bears 18-6. The score was 26-25 going into the locker rooms at halftime. Warren bounced back in the third quarter and outscored La Serna 21-15 to take a 47-40 lead into the fourth quarter. La Serna outscored the Bears 6-0 in the fourth quarter but the Bears held on for the 47-46, nail-biting victory.

Warren quarterback Chris Venegas completed 13/24 pass attempts for 315 yards. Venegas had four touchdown passes with one interception and a quarterback rating of 121.5. Venegas also had 6 carries for 127 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Arvionte Sheffield also helped the Bear ground game with four carries for 38 yards. The Warren receiving corps were led by Desmond Carnes’ six catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns, Xavier Osbey’s one catch for 54 yards and one touchdown and Robbie Colenzo’s five catches for 39 yards and one touchdown.

Warren’s defense was led by Damarryea Armstrong’s 11 solo and six assisted tackles, Kevin Arias’ two solo and eight assisted tackles, Carlos Parra’s seven solo and one assisted tackle, Stephen N. Austin’s 4 solo and four assisted tackles and Alex Valenzuela’s two solo and six assisted tackles. Coach Lara, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of S.G.V.L. play tonight on the road against Lynwood.

DOWNEY FOOTBALL - The Downey High School football team observed their bye-week this past week. The Vikings were able to rest some key players and get hurt or injured players healthy for the start of league play. Downey finished their preseason schedule with a record of 2-3 and will travel to Paramount (1-4) later today to play the Pirates. Paramount is the defending 2017 San Gabriel Valley League champion.

Downey was defeated by Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills 59-21 on August 16th, defeated Hart at Downey 33-21 on August 24th and was defeated by Kapolei of Hawai’i 23-14 on August 31st. The Vikings defeated San Pedro at San Pedro 52-21 on September 7th and were defeated by Alemany at Alemany 20-14 on September 14th.

The last two preseason games Viking starting quarterback Kijjon Foots did not play due to injury. It appears as though Foots is rested and now healthy for the game against Paramount tonight. This will give the Vikings a huge lift.

Downey will travel to Paramount later today, will host Dominguez (2-3) at Downey next Friday, and will travel to face Lynwood (0-3-1) on October 12th. Downey will host cross-town rival Warren (3-2) on October 9th and will conclude their regular season schedule when they host Gahr (1-4) at Downey on October 25th.

Coach Williams, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of league play, competing for a S.G.V.L. title and making a deep run in the C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY - The Downey High School girls’ cross country team placed second at the first S.G.V.L. cluster meet held at La Mirada Regional Park on September 18th. Warren finished first, Downey took second and Paramount claimed third. Gahr, Lynwood and Dominguez placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Downey’s Laura Velasco finished first overall with a time of 18:33.9, Alyssa Tapanes finished 5th overall with a time of 19:59.6, Camila Aguilar finished 9th overall with a time of 20:39.0, Emma Vitela finished 10th overall with a time of 20:52.5, Mia Neuman finished 11th overall with a time of 20:54.7, Juliana Cuevas finished 17th overall with a time of 22:25.5 and Magdalena Quinones finished 20th overall in a time of 22:48.6.

Warren defeated cross-town rival Downey 22-33 (lowest score wins) in the first of three scheduled S.G.V.L. cluster meets. Only the times of the five fastest finishers count towards the team time. Warren’s team time was 1:39.30 and Downey’s team time was 1:40.59. Warren had six of the 14 fastest league times ran that day at La Mirada Regional Park. Downey’s Coach Gleason, his staff and runners are all looking forward to the second cluster meet.

Warren’s Nadine Gomez finished 2nd overall with a time of 19:23.8, Natalie Esparza finished 3rd overall with a time of 19:44.2, Valeria Guerra finished 4th overall with a time of 19:46.7, Karen Chavez finished 6th overall in a time of 20:02.1, Brianna Cruz finished 8th overall with a time of 20:33.3 and Skye Gutierrez finished 14th overall with a time of 21:28.9. Warren’s Coach Waldron, his staff and runners are all looking forward to the second cluster meet.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY - The Warren High School boys’ cross country team won the first S.G.V.L. cluster meet held at La Mirada Regional Park on September 18th. Warren finished first, Paramount took second and Downey claimed third. Gahr, Lynwood and Dominguez placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Warren’s Fabian Gomez finished second overall in a time of 15:55.2, Antonio Munoz finished 3rd overall in a time of 16:13.6, Owen Franco finished 5th overall in a time of 16:35.2, Fausto Ramos finished 7th overall in a time of 16:40.2, Alfredo Santana finished 8th overall in a time of 16:41.9 and Andres Serna finished 9th overall in a time of 16:49.0.

Warren defeated cross-town rival Downey 15-45 (lowest score wins) in the first of three scheduled S.G.V.L. cluster meets. Only the times of the five fastest times count towards the team time. Warren’s team time was 1:22:06.10 and Downey’s team time was 1:26:41.61. Warren had six of the nine fastest league times ran that day at La Mirada Regional Park. Coach Miranda, his staff and runners are all looking forward to the second cluster meet.

Downey’s Cyrus Gutierrez finished 10th overall in a time of 15:51.0, Matthew Enriquez finished 12th overall in a time of 16:52.2, Gustavo Garibay finished 14th overall in a time 17:20.9, Jesse Sanson finished 16th overall in a time of 17:31.8, Emiliano Jacobo finished 21st overall in a time 18:05.7, Brandon Murillo finished 22nd overall in a time of 18:12.6 and Aiden Christianson finished 23rd overall in a time of 18:27.9. Coach Gleason, his staff and runners are all looking forward to closing the gap when the two rivals meet again for the second cluster meet.