DOWNEY - The Downey High School football team defeated Dominguez in a road game last Friday night, 28-20.With the win, Downey improved to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play. Dominguez fell to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in S.G.V.L. play. With Paramount's 41-13 win at Warren Friday, there is a three-way tie for the San Gabriel Valley League title. For the third year in a row, Downey, Dominguez and Paramount all finished with identical league records of 4-1 and a tri-championship. For the second year in a row, Downey won a coin flip after the game and secured the top league seed. Dominguez got the second league seed and Paramount got the third league seed. Downey will open up the C.I.F. Southeast Division playoffs at home against Diamond Bar tonight at 7:30 p.m. Diamond Bar (6-4, 3-3) is the number three entry from the Hacienda League. Dominguez hosts El Rancho (6-4, 4-1), the number two entry from the Del Rio League. Paramount (7-3, 4-1) travels to Los Altos (8-2, 4-2) for their game. Los Altos is the number one entry from the Hacienda League. In the Downey-Dominguez game, the Vikings were led by quarterback Jorge Reyna's 9/14 passing for 159 yards and a touchdown pass. The rushing game was also led by Reyna's 12 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown. Justin Huff had 19 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. Jason Thomas had two carries for 28 yards. The receiving corps were led by Thomas' four ctaches for 71 yards and a touchdown, Huff's two catches for 32 yards, Juwan Pleze's one catch for 32 yards, Conor Hill's one catch for 15 yards and Darrian Franklin's one catch for nine yards. Kicker Mario Galvan was 4/4 on PAT attempts. Galvan did not attempt any field goals. The Viking defense was led by Jacob Cook's one solo and 15 assisted tackles, Charles Early's 14 assisted tackles, Tristan Esparza's four solo and seven assisted tackles, Miguel Esquitin's two solo and nine assisted tackles, Patrick Smith's four solo and six assisted tackles, Manny Ramirez's four solo and four assisted tackles, Ricky Wong's two solo and six assisted tackles, Nick Robles' one solo and seven assisted tackles and Chris Blanton's eight assisted tackles. ** The Warren High School boys' cross country team swept through San Gabriel Valley League Finals by taking the top seven spots at La Mirada Regional Park last Wednesday, Nov. 6. For their efforts, the Bears have now won the S.G.V.L title for the fifth year in a row. Junior Benjamin Gonzalez finished first in a time of 15:11. Junior Andres Barragan finished second (15:19), senior Michael Hernandez finished third (15:34), junior Jonathan Rodriguez finished fourth (15:49), senior Faustino Diaz finished fifth (15:50), senior Miguel Cabada finished sixth (15:51) and sophomore Matthew Sanchez finished seventh (15:59). Downey finished in second place with a score of 58 points, Gahr finished third with 85 points and Paramount finished fourth with 96 points. This was the first time in 19 years Paramount did not qualify for the postseason. The Warren High School girls' cross country team defeated Downey 21-46 to win it's 12th S.G.V.L. title in 13 years. The lone loss was last year to Downey in a very close run. Warren senior Yajaira Zarate finished first in a time of 18:50 and sophomore Janeane Hernandez finished second (18:58). Downey juniors Brittney Martinez (19:01) and Marissa Pluma (19:13) finished in third and fourth places, respectively. Warren sophomore Gwendolyn Hurtado finished fifth (19:17), senior Elsa Vasquez finished sixth (19:31) and sophomore Samantha Tabares finished seventh (19:37). Both the Warren boys' and girls' cross country teams will compete this weeked in C.I.F. preliminary competitions. ** The Warren High School football team lost their last game of the season at home to Paramount Friday night 41-13. With the loss, the Bears finished 0-10 overall and 0-5 in S.G.V.L. play. With the win, the Pirates improved to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in S.G.V.L. play. The Pirates are the third entry from the San Gabriel Valley League and will travel to Los Altos to play the Conquerors (8-2, 4-2) in the first round of the C.I.F. Southeast Division playoffs. Paramount scored first at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter. The PAT was good and the Pirates led 7-0. Paramount led by the same 7-0 score at the end of the first quarter. Paramount kicked a field goal at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter to take a 10-0 lead. Warren answered back with a touchdown of their own at the 4:40 mark of the second quarter and converted the PAT. The score now stood at 10-7. Paramount then answered back at the 3:34 of the second quarter with another field goal. Paramount now led 17-7. Warren scored their second touchdown of the quarter and evening at the 1:40 mark. The PAT was no good but the score now stood at 17-13 Paramount. Warren appeared to have momentum on their side. Paramount wasted little time and marched the ball back down the field. The Pirates scored another touchdown and PAT with 24 seconds left until halftime. The score now stood at 24-13 Paramount. The Bears tried to get something going offensively to gain momemtum going into halftime but turned the ball over on their side of the field with just a few seconds left. With just .6 seconds left until halftime, the Paramount kicker kicked a 49 yard line drive field goal just over the cross bar. The score at halftime was 27-13 Paramount. The two teams exchanged the ball and field position for a good part of the second half. Paramount did score two second half touchdowns to seal the 41-13 win. ** The Warren High School boys' water polo team earned the third playoff spot from the San Gabriel Valley League. The Bears traveled to Atascadero on Tuesday and lost their wildcard game 17-9. Cerritos, the S.G.V.L. champion and top entry, hosted Yucaipa yesterday (score unavailable at press time). Downey, the second entry from the S.G.V.L., traveled to Arroyo Grande yesterday as well (score unavailable at press time). ** In writing for The Downey Patriot, one of my favorite things to cover and write about is the college letter of intent or signing day. It is an exciting experience for young student-athletes to be recognized for their hard work, dedication and determination to their chosen sport. It is also very special for their parents. In high school sports, a college scholarship is the ultimate goal for the student/athlete. Whether Division I, II, III or NAIA, an opportunity to showcase your physical, as well as mental ability at the next level is special. This past weekend two former athletes, sisters nonetheless, from (East) Doty Middle School competed in a softball game against each other at Cal State Fullerton. Senior Brittany Colenzo (Downey High School), a pitcher for Vanguard University, competed against her younger sister and freshman Sydney Colenzo (Downey Calvary Chapel), a catcher at Cal State Fullerton. Cal State Fullerton won the game last Saturday 5-3 and family bragging rights ensued. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Colenzo are so proud of what their daughters have done, are doing and will continue to do. In a similar story, Carlie Norczyk of Downey High School signed her NCAA letter of intent on Wednesday to compete in acrobatics and tumbling at the University of Oregon. Oregon is the defending three time national champion in this sport. Acrobatics and tumbling is the newest NCAA sanctioned sport. Coach Patterson of Downey High is extremely proud of Carlie's hard work and dedication. Congratulations are in order for future Oregon Duck Carlie Norczyk.

********** Published: Nov. 14, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 31