Sports Briefs: Bears looking to repeat
DOWNEY – The Warren High School boys’ cross country team received their 2013 C.I.F. Division I championship rings two weeks ago at Pina Pizza House. Warren’s 2014 boys’ cross country team is already working hard to get a second ring. The cross country team will take their annual trip to Placerville to prepare for the start of the cross country season later this summer.
Placerville Camp will take place from August 3rd-21st and will feature 17 of Warren’s most talented runners. The first week will be in Placerville, the second week will be in Tahoe and the last four days will be back in Placerville. The last day of camp in Placerville will feature the traditional 2.1 mile race where Warren coaches will determine where the runners fall in the history of Placerville campers that have ran the same course.
Warren is ranked second in the C.I.F. Southern Section and third in the State behind Great Oak and Madera South, respectively. The Bears are also ranked 13th nationally. Last season, the Bears were ranked as high as third in the nation.
Warren senior and top runner Benjamin Gonzalez is currently looking to attend Cal Berkeley, UCLA or Stanford. Senior Andres Barragan is currently looking to attend CSULB or UCLA. Senior Jonathan Rodriguez is currently looking to attend Pepperdine, UCLA or Azusa Pacific University. Warren seniors Freddy Menendez and Ricky Beltran continue to work hard as do juniors Matthew Sanchez and Christopher Estrada. Junior Bryan Pluma will look to make an impact as well.
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The Warren High School boys’ summer soccer program started the last week of May and will continue through August.
Soccer camp practices have been held in July from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Summer league soccer games have been played Monday-Thursday at Bellflower High School at 3 p.m. or later.
Warren traveled to Downey High last week and had several players scrimmage against each other at different skill and grade levels. This scrimmage provided an excellent opportunity for many potential players to demonstrate their abilities as well as coaches to evaluate talent.
Coach Pena of Warren and coach Mires of Downey will make their final team selections in the upcoming weeks as the summer soccer season comes to a close. Both coaches look forward to the start of the soccer season and S.G.V.L. play this winter.
Warren Bear head coach Miguel Pena can be contacted with any questions at (562) 972-6342 or by e-mail at efcsoccer@verizon.net. Coach Pena and his staff hope to see you on the pitch this summer.
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The Warren High School boys’ water polo program will continue their summer practices through next Thursday. Practices have been held at the Warren High School pool Monday-Thursday from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. and from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Games have also been played Monday-Thursday at various locations in the mornings and evenings.
Warren Bear head coach Rick Nichols can be contacted with any questions at (562) 869-7306 ext. 5746 or by e-mail at rnichols@dusd.net.
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The Downey High School football program hosted the first of two summer skills camps last Sunday from 10 a.m. until noon at Downey High.
The camp was scheduled to take place on the football field but was moved to the adjacent freshmen field on the south side of the stadium due to a field scheduling conflict.
Coach Williams had a nice turnout but anticipates more campers for the next camp on Sunday, July 27, from 10 a.m. until noon. The Viking Skills Camp will focus on offensive drills, speed training, defensive drills and an introduction to tackling techniques. The cost will be $25 and is open to student-athletes ages 6-14.
Former Downey Viking and current USC Trojan Jabari Ruffin attended the camp as did USC teammate and offensive lineman Zach Banner. Ruffin and Banner have been regulars for Coach Williams’ Skills Camp and may bring more Trojans back on July 27th. Only those who attend the camp will see who helps out next time. Coach Williams and his staff hope to see you on the 27th for Viking Skills Camp II.
Coach Williams will also educate parents on what is expected of athletes to be able to play football at the high school and collegiate levels, school expectations and student- athlete character. Pre-registration is also available. Contact Jack Williams via e-mail at jwilliams@dusd.net and he can send you a registration form. Student-athletes can send payment to Jack Williams, 11040 Brookshire Ave., Downey, CA 90241.
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The St. John Bosco football team competed at the Edison High School of Huntington Beach’s “Battle at the Beach” passing league tournament last Saturday. After falling to Los Alamitos 20-19 in their first game, the Braves won five consecutive scrimmages to reach the championship game against Hart High School.
Hart defeated Bosco 19-13 in the final scrimmage but did so by taking delay of game penalties to run out the 30-minute game clock. Many parents and boosters were not pleased with how the scrimmage ended and made it known how they felt.
Bosco competed against some of the southland’s best programs. Corona Centennial, Serra, Los Alamitos and Hart were four of their opponents, respectively. All four teams are consistently in the C.I.F. playoffs and win games. As many remember, Bosco defeated Corona Centennial last year before playing Concord De La Salle in the state title game.
While competing in the tournament, Coach Negro was able to evaluate players and give them a chance to compete for a starting job and playing time. Coach Negro was pleased with quarterback Josh Rosen, receiver Jared Harrell and running back Sean McGrew to name a few. These 7-7 scrimmages do not have linemen and do not showcase a running game.
Coach Negro saw his team get better last Saturday and is confident his team will continue to get better as the season soon approaches. Coach Negro, his staff and players are all looking forward to the start of their season in late August and defending their state and national title this fall.
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Published: July 17, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 14