DOWNEY – Warren again was able to find that light switch when it mattered, winning Friday at home against Paramount 49-24 in a game that found the Pirates just points behind Warren at half time.

What’s looking like a possible bad habit that is forming, Warren for the second consecutive week played one good half of football that was just enough to beat a lesser team that they should have put away with ease.

It should have been a cakewalk for the Bears, but a pre-game intimidation tactic by Paramount that almost found both teams fighting, and a fired up foe showed Warren that they need to come out and play and not rely on the likes of running back Jesse Callier every game.

In the first half, Callier only touched the ball nine times but rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns from Callier came on big bursts, all of them for 30 yards or more.

Other than that, Callier and the rest of Warren really didn’t do anything offensively or for that matter defensively against a team that knows points come at a premium for them this season.

“You know we took some back steps again in the first half,” said Warren head coach Chris Benadom. “Paramount was fired up and ready to play. Our kids came out a little flat. I’ve been trying to tell them all week this is a San Gabriel Valley League game. Every team is going to play. We came out thinking we don’t need to play tonight and it showed in the first half.”

Benadom must have been talking about his defense that allowed two touchdowns and a field goal against a team that didn’t have one offensive player rushing or passing for over 100 yards on average in the season.

The second half was a much different story defensively. Warren forced three turnovers, including a fumble and an interception, and then poured it on offensively.

The difference in the game for the Bears was their defense that shut out Paramount for the rest of the game. Benadom said that at the half, he kept it simple with his kids in the locker room.

“Play,” he said his coaching staff told them. “Play like you guys can play. They were lethargic. We thought we would come out and take it to Paramount but we knew that it wouldn’t happen as a coaching staff, so play in the second half.”

Callier would tack on another two touchdowns, totaling five for the night with 282 total yards rushing, and quarterback Sam Bettencourt and receiver Bailey Cowins also hooked up for a 61-yard touchdown pass to start the second half. Bettencourt had a sub-par night being picked off twice, but Cowins had a good night when the ball was thrown to him catching two passes for 98 yards.

The win keeps Warren undefeated in SGVL play with two games to go. Paramount in the game lost two quarterbacks and two running backs to injuries and had to play third string players most of the game.

Warren’s next game is tonight at Gahr starting at 7 p.m.

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Published: November 6, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 29