Sports Recap: Bears, Vikings ready for playoffs

DOWNEY – The Warren High School football team defeated Lynwood last Friday night at Warren 32-12. With the win, the Bears improved to 8-2 overall and 4-1 in S.G.V.L. play while the Knights fell to 4-6 overall and 0-5 in league play.

With their win Friday night, the Bears clinched a piece of the San Gabriel Valley League title. Warren was a tri-champion with cross-town rival Downey and Dominguez. , Downey defeated Dominguez 27-14, Warren defeated Downey 23-6 and Dominguez defeated Warren 47-19. 

A coin toss was held at Warren High School immediately following Friday night’s games. Warren won the toss and received the top S.G.V.L. seed. Downey received the number two seed, Dominguez received the number three seed and Paramount received the only at-large bid.

In the Warren/Lynwood game, neither team scored in the first quarter. Warren scored the first touchdown of the game with five minutes left in the second quarter. The PAT was good and Warren led 7-0. The Bears increased their lead to 15-0 with just under a minute to play on a touchdown and two point conversion. The Knights answered back right before halftime with a touchdown of their own. The PAT was no good. The Knights cut the Bear lead to 15-6. Warren took that 15-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Warren came alive in the third quarter and scored 17 unanswered points to stretch their lead to 32-6. The Bears kept that lead as the third quarter came to a close. The Knights added a fourth quarter touchdown to pull within 32-12. It was not enough, however, as the Bears won by that same 32-12 score.

Bear quarterback Jordan Yancy completed 11/15 pass attempts for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Warren’s ground game was led by Yancy’s seven carries for 70 yards and Edward Chorro’s 10 carries for 42 yards. The Bear receiving corps were led by Mason Marquez’s five catches for 66 yards, Jordan Mayes’ two catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns and Ulises Cota’s two catches for 63 yards and one touchdown.

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The Downey High School football team defeated Paramount at Downey last Friday night 26-21. With the win, Downey improved to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in S.G.V.L. play. With the loss, Paramount fell to 5-5 overall and 2-3 in league play. 

Downey also clinched a piece of the S.G.V.L. title with their win against Paramount. Downey is a tri-champion with cross-town rival Warren (8-2, 4-1) and Dominguez (7-3, 4-1). Downey defeated Dominguez at Dominguez 27-13, Warren defeated Downey at Warren 23-6 and Dominguez defeated Warren at Dominguez 47-19. 

In the Downey/Paramount game, Paramount jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter. Downey closed that gap in the second quarter by scoring a touchdown and converting the PAT. The score at halftime was 14-13 Paramount.

Downey responded after halftime by scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter. One PAT was blocked but the Vikings took the lead at 26-14. The score remained that way as the third quarter came to a close.

Paramount scored a fourth quarter touchdown and converted the PAT. The Pirates pulled to within 26-21. The two teams exchanged the ball and field position for the remainder of the quarter. Paramount got the ball back with just under two minutes to play but could not get the ball into the endzone. The score stayed 26-21 and Downey came away with the win.

Downey quarterback Rafeeq Rahim II completed 16/27 pass attempts for 241 yards and had two interceptions. Daevon Vigilant led the Viking ground game with 106 yards on 24 carries. The Downey rushing attack carried the ball 49 times for 230 yards. 

The Viking receiving corps were led by Jalen Thompson’s five catches for 88 yards and Albert Padilla’s four catches for 96 yards. The Viking passing attack had 241 yards on 16 receptions. The Viking offense combined for 471 total yards in the winning effort.

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The 2015 C.I.F. Southeast Division football playoff bracket was released last Sunday at noon. Four San Gabriel Valley League teams qualified for postseason play. There was a three-way tie for league champion honors between Dominguez, Downey and Warren. 

It was learned on Sunday that Paramount received the only at-large entry for the playoffs. 
Immediately after Friday night’s games, a coin toss was held at Warren High School to determine league playoff seedings. Warren won the coin toss and received the number one entry. Downey received the number two entry and Dominguez received the number three entry. 

Warren (8-2, 4-1) will host St. Francis (7-3, 3-2) later today. The Golden Knights are the number three entry from the Angelus League behind Cathedral (9-1, 4-1) and Harvard-Westlake (7-3, 4-1).

Downey (6-4, 4-1) will host Whittier (6-4, 3-2). The Cardinals are the number two entry from the Del Rio League behind La Serna (8-2, 5-0). Santa Fe (4-6, 3-2) is the number three entry from the Del Rio League.

Dominguez (7-3, 4-1) will travel to Burbank (6-4, 5-2). The Bulldogs are the number three entry from the Pacific League behind Burroughs (9-1, 7-0) and Crescenta Valley (6-4, 5-2).  
Paramount (5-5, 2-3) was given the at-large bid after losing three close league games.

Paramount was defeated by Warren 30-27, by Dominguez 39-33 and by Downey 26-21. Three losses to league opponents by a total 14 points helped get the Pirates into the playoffs. A win against Moore League champion Long Beach Wilson in week one was key as well. 

Paramount will travel to La Serna in the opening round of the playoffs to take on a Lancer team that finished their season with an overall record of 8-2 and a Del Rio League record of 5-0. La Serna was the Del Rio League champion.

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The Warren High School boys’ and girls’ cross country teams each took home S.G.V.L. champion honors at La Mirada Regional Park last week. Gahr senior Samuel Ayala was the San Gabriel Valley League individual champion for the boys and Warren senior Gwendolyn Hurtado was the league champion for the girls. Ayala finished in a time of 15:45 and Hurtado finished in a time of 17:48.

In boy’s competition, Paramount junior Alain Isais finished second in a time of 16:01, Warren senior Sergio Santana finished third in a time of 16:17, Warren junior Daniel Ramos finished fourth in a time of 16:18, Warren senior Christopher Estrada finished fifth in a time of 16:24 and Warren junior Christian Gonzalez finished sixth in a time of 16:25. Warren finished first with 27 points followed by Paramount’s 54 and Gahr’s 55 points, respectively.

In girl’s competition, Warren senior Samantha Tabares finished second in a time of 18:05, Warren junior Trinity Gomez finished third in a time of 18:27, Warren senior Janeane Hernandez finished fourth in a time of 18:36, Warren junior Carlota Conant finished fifth in a time of 18:49 and Warren junior Blanca Robles finished sixth in a time of 19:21. The Lady Bears did not run a full line-up of seven runners but still came away with the win. 

The Lady Bears finished in a team time of 1:31:45. That time was more than a full minute faster than the 2009 time of 1:32:58. Interestingly, the 2009 Lady Bear cross country team placed fourth in the state meet.     

Both the boy’s and girl’s cross country teams will be competing tomorrow at the Riverside City Cross Country Course. The boy’s race will start at 7:57 a.m. and the girl’s race will start at 8:42 a.m.