Sports Briefs: Downey, Warren come up short

DOWNEY – The Warren High School football team lost their first game of the season to St. Paul at St. Paul last Friday night 24-15. The Bears are now 0-1 on the young season while the Swordsmen improved to 2-0. The Bears will host Buena Park tonight at Justice Stadium. The two teams did not play each other last season.

The Coyotes come into tonight’s game with a 2-0 record and have outscored their opponents 118-6 in those two games. Buena Park defeated Orange at Orange 65-0 on 8/28 and defeated California at California 53-6 last Friday night.

Warren trailed at St. Paul 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Swordsmen scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter and took a 21-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Warren regrouped at halftime and scored 15 points in the third quarter. The score at the end of the third quarter was 21-15 St. Paul. The Swordsmen added a field goal in the fourth quarter and held off the rallying Bears to preserve the 24-15 win.

The Warren passing game was led by quarterback Jordan Yancy’s 9/27 passing for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Yancy did throw one interception. The Bear rushing attack was led by Yancy’s five carries for 26 yards, Eduardo Figueroa’s eight carries for 25 yards and Jordan Mayes’ eight carries for 18 yards.

The Bear receiving corps were led by David Escobedo’s three catches for 46 yards, Ulises Cota’s three catches for 45 yards, Joseph Vargas’ one catch for six yards, Mayes’ one catch for six yards and Angel Luevanos’ one catch for four yards.

Warren’s defense held St. Paul’s offense to only three points in the second half. Senior Benjamin Donerson and junior Steven Zepeda continue to lead an improving Bear defense.

Warren’s defense will certainly be tested tonight against an offensive-minded Coyote team.

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The Downey High School football team lost to Vista Murrieta at home last Friday night, 14-13.

Besides the loss on the scoreboard, the Vikings also lost sophomore quarterback Trevor Hill for 6-8 weeks after Hill broke his left wrist during the second quarter.

With the loss, Downey is now 1-1 and will play Mira Costa at Mira Costa tonight. Mira Costa is 0-1 after the Mustangs lost to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 70-34 two weeks ago. Mira Costa won last year’s game against Downey 36-15.

Downey trailed at the end of the first quarter 7-6. Both teams scored touchdowns and converted extra points in the second quarter as Vista Murrieta held on to a one point lead going into the locker rooms af halftime. Neither team scored in the third or fourth quarter and the Broncos held on for the 14-13 win. Vista Murrieta defeated Downey last year 66-28 at Vista Murrieta.

Before his injury, Trevor Hill completed 7/13 pass attempts for 158 yards and one touchdown. Back up quarterback Eddie Preciado completed 2/8 pass attempts for 49 yards and had one interception. The Viking ground game was led by Daevon Vigilant’s six carries for 52 yards, Justin Huff’s 10 carries for 49 yards and one touchdown and Preciado’s four carries for 19 yards.

The Downey receiving corps were led by Vigilant’s three catches for 79 yards, Darrian Franklin’s two catches for 71 yards, Huff’s two catches for 23 yards, Cameron Carr’s one catch for 19 yards and Jalen Thompson’s one catch for 15 yards and a touchdown.

The Viking defense was led by Franklin’s eight solo and 6 assisted tackles, Miguel Esquitin’s nine solo and four assisted tackles, Kiefer Enslin’s five solo and five assisted tackles and Chris Blanton’s seven solo and two assisted tackles. Five of Blanton’s nine tackles were for a loss.

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The Downey High School girls’ tennis team currently has a 1-0 record after defeating Santa Fe, 11-7, in their first match of the season last Thursday at Downey.

The Lady Vikings played Millikan yesterday at Millikan (score unavailable at press time) and will play at Bellflower next Tuesday.

The Lady Vikings will open up San Gabriel Valley League play against Lynwood at Lynwood on 9/23. Downey will host Warren on 9/25 at 3:00 p.m. The winner of this match will have an early league lead and the inside track to the S.G.V.L. title.

Downey finished last season with an overall record of 11-5 and were 9-3 in S.G.V.L. play. Senior captains Elizabeth Aceves and Jessica Angell return with more experience and skill under their belts. Aceves and Angell will be joined by seniors Brittany Lorenzana and Lucy Manzo. Juniors Tara Kazimi and Lauren Martinez also return and will be joined by sophomore Connie Paik.

Coach Diego, her staff and players are looking forward to this season and making another run at the S.G.V.L. title and C.I.F. Division 3 playoffs. Cross-town rival Warren was the 2013 league champion while the Lady Vikings won the S.G.V.L. title in 2012. Warren and Paramount will once again present quality competition as the road to a league title will most likely go through both schools.

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The Warren High School boys’ cross country team is currently ranked number two in the prepcaltrack top 100. Great Oak is currently ranked number one.

Warren assistant coach Eddie Rodriguez said that “Great Oak is great and I personally believe they have the most talent and depth in California history, maybe even nationally.” Rodriguez continued by saying, “they absolutely blow us out of the water on paper, but that will not stop us from giving them a run for their money come the end of the season.”

Warren’s top ten runners at the time of this writing are senior Benjamin Gonzalez, senior Jonathan Rodriguez, senior Andres Barragan, junior Matthew Sanchez, junior Bryan Pluma, sophomore Alex Garber, senior Freddy Menendez, junior Sergio Santana, junior Christopher Estrada and seniors Ricky Beltran and Devon Rodriguez.

Warren will compete tomorrow at the Laguna Hills Invitational at 8:00 a.m. The Bears will also compete next Saturday at the Woodbridge Invitational at the Great Park in Irvine. The first cluster meet of the season will be held on Thursday, September 25th, at Hollydale Park. Coach Miranda, his staff and runners are looking forward to the start of the season and making a run at Great Oak. The Bears were C.I.F. Division I champions in 2013.

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The Warren High School girls’ tennis team currently has a 3-0 record after defeating Mayfair 16-2 last Wednesday, Millikan 9-9 (79-74) last Thursday and Bellflower 18-0 on Tuesday. In the Millikan win, Bear standout Isa Lopez went 3-0 on the day and recorded wins of 6-1, 7-5 and 6-0. The Bears played Lakewood at Warren yesterday (score unavailable at press time).

Warren will be led this year by senior Isa Lopez. Bear seniors Bohesa Won, Diana Castrejon, Eunice Lee, Julia Lee, Karen Gomez, Karina Gomez, Rebecca Ruiz and Victoria Echevarria will all play key roles. Juniors Karla Barahona, Kristen Ojeda, Laura Tidwell and Monica Cantoran will step up as well.

The Bears open up San Gabriel Valley League play against Gahr at Warren on 9/23. Warren travels to cross-town rival Downey on 9/25. Warren is the defending 2013 S.G.V.L. champion.

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Published: Sept. 11, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 22