SPORTS BRIEFS: fall football schedules released

DOWNEY - The Warren High School football team is getting ready for their fall football season.The Bears have been working hard in the weight room, conditioning on the football field and practicing their "x's and o's." In less than two months, the Bears will be playing for real under the lights. The Bears will open their preseason schedule on Sept. 6 against C.I.F. L.A. City opponent South East. The Bears lost to South East last year 24-21 in a nailbiter. The Bears will then travel to Suburban league upstart Norwalk on Sept. 13. The Lancers were C.I.F. quarter-finalists last year. Warren will host Rosemead on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m and then travel to Bell Gardens on Sept. 27. The Bears conclude their preseason schedule by traveling to Cal High on Oct. 4. Warren will begin their S.G.V.L. schedule on Oct. 11 by traveling to Gahr. The Bears will then host cross-town rival Downey on October 18. Warren will then travel to Dominguez and face the Dons on Oct. 25. The Bears will then host Lynwood on Nov. 1 and conclude their regular season schedule at home against Paramount on Nov. 8. All games start at 7 p.m. The Bears will have their bye week in week 1 on Sept. 30. As this schedule indicates, the Bears will play ten Fridays in a row. Coach Jimenez and his staff are looking forward to a competitive season and a S.G.V.L. playoff spot. * Meanwhile, Downey High School's football program will begin the first part of their summer practice schedule on Monday, with practices continuing through Thursday, July 18. Practices start at 9 a.m. Afternoon practices will resume the following week on Monday, July 22, and will run through their first preseason game against Orange Lutheran, at Downey, on August 22. These practices will run from 3-6 p.m. Incoming ninth graders will begin their summer practice schedule on July 22, which also continues through their first preseason game. Freshmen practice from 2-5 p.m. Downey will host Orange Lutheran in their 2013 season opener on Thursday, August 22, at 5 p.m. Downey will then host Mayfair on August 30 at 7 p.m before traveling to Vista Murrieta on Sept. 6 for a 7 p.m. start. Downey hosts Mira Costa on Sept. 13 and the Millikan Rams on Sept. 20. The Vikings will then travel to Huntington Beach to play the Oilers in their final preseason game on Sept. 27. These games have 7 p.m. start times. Downey will take a week off and prepare for their league schedule, which opens Oct. 11 when the Vikings host Lynwood. Downey will then travel to cross-town rival Warren to play the Bears on Oct. 18 and to Gahr on Oct. 25. Downey hosts Paramount on Nov. 1 and conclude their regular season schedule on the road against Dominguez on Nov. 8. * The Warren High School girls' soccer team will start their summer soccer tournament and camp on Monday and it will run through Friday, July 19. The morning session will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Summer camp will be held at Warren High School and the soccer tournament will be held at Bellflower High School. The cost is $150. Coach Peters and her staff would like to encourage younger players to get a start on their soccer career at Warren High School by participating in summer league and attending their camp. The Lady Bear soccer program offers the opportunity for all girls to improve their level of play, get in shape for the upcoming season and have fun. Basic skills such as ball control, passing and shooting are enhanced while fundamental tactics of the game are learned. All camp participants will have the opportunity to participate in a competitive soccer tournament as well as the chance to work with established varsity level players and the coaching staff at Warren High School. The Bellflower Tournament begins Monday and games will be played Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Game times will be either 3 p.m., 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. For more information please contact Coach Natalie at (562) 291-9881 or Coach Peters at (562) 869-7306 ext. 5611 or at tpeters@dusd.net. * The Downey High School girls' golf team is gearing up for another season. The Lady Viking summer golf schedule starts on July 30 and runs through August 15. Practices will be held Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8-9:30 a.m. Qualifying rounds are scheduled for August 20, August 22, August 27 and August 29. Coach Bean is looking forward to a competitive season on the links. Coach Bean may be reached at jabean@dusd.net for further questions. Coach Sanders is the boys' golf coach and he can be reached at ssanders@dusd.net for more boys' summer golf information. The Downey High School girls' tennis team will be starting their summer schedule on August 1, at 9 a.m. Practices will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in August from 9-11:30 a.m. at the tennis courts behind the Downey Aquatics Center. Coach Diego and her staff are looking forward to the start of another season and defending their first S.G.V.L. championship. Questions about the upcoming season may be directed to head coach Denise Diego at ddiego@dusd.net. Coach Park is the boys' tennis coach and he can be reached at bpark@dusd.net for more boys' tennis information. * The Long Beach Press-Telegram continues to recognize local athletes on their annual "Dream Teams." Boy's golf had two representatives from the San Gabriel Valley League. No golfer from the S.G.V.L. made the first team Dream Team. Gahr senior Isaiah Soto, the S.G.V.L. champion, was selected to the second team. S.G.V.L. second place finisher, senior Terasak Damabhorn of Warren, was given honorable mention. Warren (7-1) finished as the S.G.V.L. co-champion along with Montebello (7-1) but were seeded first in league due to overall strokes. Warren finished the Long Beach Press Telegram's area poll as the number seven ranked team. Downey finished in the same poll as the ninth ranked team. Warren High School also had a first team Dream Team selection in boy's tennis. Warren sophomore standout Sam Kang was selected to the first team. Kang won all 36 sets in his S.G.V.L. matches and did not lose a set in the league tournament. Kang reached the second round of the C.I.F. Individual Tournament. The S.G.V.L. had four other representatives on the Dream Team. Paramount seniors Brandon Aparicio and Lucio Garibay were selected to the first team Dream Team. Erick Back and Joe Lee of Gahr were given honorable mention. Downey was the 2013 S.G.V.L. team champion. * Warren High School was well represented in boys' volleyball for the annual Long Beach Press-Telegram's Dream Team. Senior libero Brian Oh was selected to the first team Dream Team. Oh was selected S.G.V.L. MVP for the third year in a row and was an All-C.I.F.-SS Division III selection. Oh was the leader of a Bear squad that went 8-0 in league play and inspired their run in the playoffs. Brian Oh's teammate, Chris Buzo, was selected to the second team Dream Team. Oh and Buzo were a solid combination and were the heart and soul of this year's squad. Coach Simons was extremely pleased with how well his team played this year and for their exciting run in the playoffs. The Bears were literally "a serve away from the semifinals." The Bears defeated Valencia 25-18, 25-21 and 25-17 in the first round of the Division III playoffs and then defeated San Marino 21-25, 25-16, 25-22 and 25-22 in the second round. Warren fell to Crossroads in the third round 25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-27 and 16-18 in nailbiting fashion. Downey senior Matt Lostetter was the only other San Gabriel Valley League Dream Team selection. Lostetter was a second team selection and led the Vikings to a 5-3 league record and a second place finish. Downey lost to Camarillo 18-25, 21-25 and 17-25 in the second round of the C.I.F. Division III playoffs. Downey won their first round game against Santa Ana in straight sets 25-17, 25-13 and 25-21. St. John Bosco's senior standout Joey Pillon was selected as the Dream Team Player of the Year and Bosco junior Jacob Tuioti-Mariner and Bosco sophomore Joshua Tuaniga were first team Dream Team selections.

********** Published: July 11, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 13