DOWNEY — Both the Downey and Warren girls flag football teams are off and running and passing for the 2025 season.

With tough preseason schedules, the Vikings and Bears have a heavy schedule prior to league competition which begins next month.

Downey topped the .500 mark with a win on Wednesday (August 20) over El Modena, while Warren is 3-5 overall.

The Bears competed in the Chargers Invitational this past weekend with five games in two days going, 2-3, while Downey opened the season with two losses, but have won four of its last five games.

“We’ve been playing some tough games over the course of the last week and didn’t get the results that we wanted, but the girls have been fighting,” Downey second-year coach Chuck Lozano said. “It’s always about getting our battle scars and getting ready for the future, especially for playoffs and getting into league.”

First year Warren head coach Chad Bell also talked about the early season start.

The initial Warren head coach, Felipe Aguilar, is now at Hope International University as head coach, along with Bell and his assistant Phillip Marquez.

“We’re hitting our bumps now because we had some inconsistencies in the summer,” Bell said. “That’s because some of the girls were playing soccer out of the country. That’s a great opportunity for them.”

DOWNEY

Downey, which finished second to Warren in the Gateway League last year with a 7-1 record in its first year of competition, has already played seven games and just improved to 4-3 overall.

The Vikings started the season with a 1-3 record but have won the last three games this week to go over the .500 mark.

In the last three games the Vikings defense has allowed only one touchdown. They defeated El Modena, 24-6, (See game recap below) on Monday, and shut out both Woodrow Wilson (27-0) Tuesday and Millikan (42-0) Wednesday.

They will play a double header Saturday (August 23) at home against JW North (9 am) and Rancho Cucamonga (11:30 am).

In Monday’s win over El Modena, sophomore quarterback Madeline Garcia ran for 77 yards on 12 carries for a 6.4 average. She also threw for 261 yards to seven different receivers. Senior receivers Chloe Cotton and Adriana Maldonado caught two touchdown receptions each.

“We just want to win and everybody stays together and the energy was high and we all fed off of that and I think we got the win from it,” Cotton said.

Cotton caught two passes for sixty yards and Maldonado caught three passes for 20 yards in the game.

“The key to this game I feel was more communication and we came together as one and the energy was there,” Maldonado said.

Senior Delilah Navarro caught seven passes for a game-high 100 yards, while sophomore Leila Paz (4 catches) and junior Melanie Sanchez (2 catches) totaled 36 and 25 yards, respectively.

On the defensive side, three players – junior Emily Muggleton, Geneva Serrano and Navarro, all led with four tackles each. The defense recorded 19 in the game for the Vikings.

Navarro and sophomore defensive back Sophia Hernandez added one interception each.

Downey led, 12-6, at the half and scored a touchdown in the third to widen the lead to 18-6 and another score in the fourth quarter for the 24-6 final.

“It was a great game (Monday), we needed it,” Lozano said. “I thought Chloe Cotton stepped up and made some catches in traffic.”

DOWNEY 27, WILSON 0

In the 27-0 shutout over Wilson Tuesday, Garcia and Maldonado split time at quarterback.

Maldonado led with 137 yards (8 for 16) and a touchdown, while Garcia was 8 for 10 for 100 yards and two TDs.

Senior Alana Espe led with 40 yards on two carries and a touchdown, while Garcia had two carries for 10 yards.

The two QBs found eight different receivers for the Vikings, with Cotton leading the way with a game-high 68 yards (4 catches) and Navarro with 60 yards (3 catches).

Hernandez (55 yds., 2 catches) and Paz (25 yds., 3 catches) each caught a TD pass.

The Vikings defense allowed only 61 total yards for Wilson.

With the new changes this season, Lozano said, “At first, with anything that has change, there is a little bit of resistance to it,” he said. “As time went on, we’ve been able to adapt pretty well.

“We’ve had an opportunity to have a spring practice, which we didn’t have last year. Having that time under our belt, we did a much better job of us being able to prepare for these rule changes.”

Downey defeated Millikan, 42-0 Wednesday (August 20) to finish the week by outscoring its three opponents, 93-6.

What they said:

Adriana Maldonado, Downey senior wide receiver: “The preseason has showed us what we’re going to face and helped us prepare for the upcoming season.”

Chloe Cotton, Downey senior wide receiver, defensive back: “We’re hungrier this year and more connected and have better chemistry as a team. Our goal is to stay where we are and to finish the season on top.”

Madeline Garcia, Downey sophomore quarterback: “Our energy is good, and all of the girls were hyped up and we play together as a team.

“I feel a lot of pressure, but the girls have my back. We learned a lot from our losses that we have to stick together and not get down.”

WARREN

“We have absolutely phenomenal kids,” Bell said. “They’re great, smart kids. But I do wish on the field sometimes they would flip the switch and become just a dog and get after it. They do make it a joy to coach.”

The Bears started the season with three consecutive losses but rebounded to win three of their next four. Two of those victories came on close endings. In a 13-6 win over Mira Costa, the Bears knocked a pass down to win the game. In the 12-7 win over Fullerton Warren scored with less than a minute to go.

“We are really looking forward to building off of the success we’ve had in the first two years of flag football,” Bell added. “Also, looking forward to the new rules and subsequent new style of play that the rules will create.”

In the first year of competition in Flag Football, Warren and Mayfair finished with identical records (7-1) in league and last year the Bears were undefeated (8-0) league champs.

Warren used a dual quarterback system at the beginning of the year with the 2024 Offensive Player of the Year in junior Isabella Gonzalez and junior Jayleen Martinez.

“We have a lot of returning experience on offense and we are two deep at every position,” Bell said. “We also have two strong running backs in Sofia Aceves (senior) and Helen Soriano (senior).

“Emma Montes (senior), Samantha Tinoco (junior), Jocelyn Escobar (sophomore), Evangeline Zuniga (senior) and Ariannah Gonzalez (sophomore) will all contribute on offense.”

Tinoco is the returning Player of the Year in the Suburban Valley Conference.

The five team captains for the Bears are Aceves, Paulina Urena (senior), Montes, Laurie Fuentes (junior) and Tinoco.

“I think it’s so exciting having all these underclassmen finally being brought up to varsity, because they have so much talent,” Urena said. “The defense keeps getting stronger every year, especially some of the athletes that come from different sports.”

Returning starters on offense are Gonzalez (QB); Aceves (RB); Tinoco (WR) and Soriano RB/WR.

“It’s cool to see how the sport is growing rapidly,” Aceves said. “It’s cool to see a lot of other schools get to join the league and find their love for flag football.”

Newcomer wide receivers on offense are Montes, (returning from injury); Escobar; Ariannah Gonzalez and Zuniga.

“I’m really excited and more nervous because this is going to be my first year coming back since my surgery,” Montes said. “I feel like it’s more pressure too, because it’s my last year, but I get to play with my best friends.”

Returning starters on defense are Tinoco, LB; Montes, DB (started sophomore year) and Fuentes, LB.

Key newcomers on defense are Leila Camonte, Junior, LB; Emily Ponce, SO, DB; Yeya Ron, JR., LB and Lexi Cortez, SR., LB.

WARREN DEFEATS FOOTHILL, 24-6

Aceves (5 carries, 13 yards) opened the game with a 1-yard run to lead, 6-0. The extra point was no good.

She scored the second TD of the half in the second quarter on a 10-yard catch from Gonzalez for the 12-0 lead. The 1-point conversion was caught by senior wide receiver Kassidy Panduro to lead, 13-0.

The second touchdown of the quarter for the Bears was a pass from Gonzalez (14 for 23, 190 yards) to Escobar for 10 yards and the score, to lead, 19-0. Escobar had a game-high 75 yards (5 catches). Tinoco was right behind Escobar with 74 yards (4 catches).

Montes highlighted the third quarter with one of the two interceptions from the Warren defense. Soriano also had an interception in the second quarter for the Bears, which was followed in the quarter with a 40-yard reception by Tinoco to set up the Escobar score.

Camonte led the defense with eight tackles in the game for the Bears.

What they said:

Helen Soriano, Warren senior RB, WR: “In the tournament we were all tired and all pushed each other in the five games.

“It was a wakeup call playing against the tough teams. We hung on against (Orange Lutheran) in the first half.”

Laurie Fuentes, Warren junior LB: “We still have a lot of potential and It’s just the start of the season, but once we get into the season, we’re going to do great.

“I’m excited what the future holds for us because I know we are a really good team.”

Strong defense, new leadership mark early flag football season for Downey and Warren