Sports briefs: Bears, Vikings stumble as preseason wraps up

DOWNEY - The Warren High School football team fell to 0-4 this season after losing at Bell Gardens last Friday night, 48-12.With the win, the Lancers improved to 3-1. Warren will travel to Cal High tonight and play the Condors, who are 1-3 and have lost three straight games. Cal High defeated Montebello 24-13 in week one, lost to Troy 35-6 in week two, lost to Fullerton 53-14 in week three and lost to Schurr 17-15 last week. Warren will conclude their preason schedule after playing Cal this evening. Bell Gardens scored first midway through the first quarter but missed the PAT attempt and led 6-0 after the first quarter. Bell Gardens widened their lead to 13-0 at the 10:13 mark of the second quarter after scoring a touchdown and converting on the PAT attempt. Bell Gardens converted on two more touchdowns and PAT attempts. The third touchdown of the second quarter was scored at the 2:53 mark which was set up by a Zaahid Summerville interception. The Lancers led 27-0 at halftime. Warren's drive to open the third quarter stalled at midfield and Bell Gardens scored a touchdown at the 8:39 mark of the third quarter. The extra point was good and Bell Gardens led led 34-0. The Bears responded at the 6:30 mark of the third quarter when quarterback Mike Vega connected with Zaahid Summerville on a touchdown strike. The point after failed, however, and the Bears trailed 34-6. Bell Gardens answered right back with a scoring drive of their own at the 4:55 mark of the third quarter. The PAT attempt was good and Bell Gardens led 41-6. The two teams exchanged the ball and field position with neither team scoring in the remainder of third quarter. The Lancers led 41-6 as the third quarter ended. Bell Gardens tacked on another touchdown in the fourth quarter. Warren responded with another Vega to Summerville strike at the 3:00 mark. This touchdown pass was caught by Summerville in the corner of the endzone in double coverage. Summerville made an impressive catch and maintained possession to earn the six points. The PAT attempt was no good and the Bears trailed 48-12. There would be no further scoring and Bell Gardens won the game by that same score. *** Downey High junior quarterback Jorge Reyna was tackled on the Huntington Beach two-yard line as time expired as the Oilers escaped with a 37-29 win over the Vikings last Friday. With the loss, Downey fell to 2-3. Huntington Beach improved to 3-2. The Vikings have now concluded their preseason schedule and do not play this evening. Downey will enter their bye week and rest up for the start of San Gabriel Valley League play, which begins next Friday night when Downey hosts Lynwood in the league opener for both schools. Downey was led on offense by Reyna's 19/30 passing for 301 yards and two touchdown completions. Reyna also carried the ball 17 times for 144 yards. Senior running back Eric Carrillo carried the ball 20 times for 164 yards and junior Josh Flores gained five yards on two carries. The Viking receiving corp was led by junior Jason Thomas' seven catches for 117 yards, sophomore Darrian Franklin's four catches for 105 yards and one touchdown, and senior Conor Hill's three catches for 57 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Mario Galvan was 3/3 on PAT attempts for three points. Galvan did not attempt any field goals. Junior Manny Ramirez led Downey's defense with 14 assisted tackles. Senior Juwan Pleze compiled one solo and 11 assisted tackles, and junior Jacob Cook had three solo and seven assisted tackles. Seniors Anthony Garcia and Nick Robles each had one solo and nine assisted tackles. Downey enters league play ranked number four in the latest C.I.F. Southeast Division poll. Norwalk, the team Downey defeated in the C.I.F. quarterfinals last year 45-42, is the top ranked team in the Southeast Division. Norwalk is currently 4-0. *** The Warren High School girls' tennis team improved to 7-3 overall and 4-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play after seven consecutive wins. The Bears defeated Gahr, 16-2, on Sept. 20; cross-town rival Downey, 10-8, on Sept. 24; Lynwood, 14-4, on Sept. 27; and Paramount, 11-7, on Wednesday. The Bears played Gahr yesterday (score unavailable at press time) and travel to Downey today for the much anticipated rematch. The Bears are playing consistent tennis and now have the inside track to the league title. Warren handed the Paramount Lady Pirates (4-1) their first league loss and Downey (2-3) one of their three league losses. There is still a lot of tennis to be played and matches get closer as teams and players continue to improve. Warren is currently on a seven-match winning streak. Coach Starksen said she is pleased with the progress her team has made and maintains that her players continue to work hard and improve each day. *** The Downey Calvary Chapel football team improved its overall record to 2-1 after defeating Southlands Christian, 14-13, at Downey High School last Friday night. DCC has now won two straight games, both victories coming by one point. The Grizzlies were led on offense by junior quarterback Daniel Castro's 2/9 passing for 34 yards and one touchdown as well as Castro's three carries for 23 yards. The Grizzly running game was led by senior Matthew Sanchez's 26 carries for 72 yards and one touchdown and junior Sam Arcaias' eight carries for 25 yards. Sanchez also converted both Grizzly PAT attempts. DCC's receiving corp was led by sophomore Seth Baumann's two catches for 34 yards. Seth Baumann collected seven solo tackles for the Grizzlies while Matthew Sanchez had six. Daniel Castro and Anthony Alas each had five solo tackles. The Grizzlies travel to Yorba Linda High School Saturday night to play the Fairmont Prep Huskies. The Huskies are 2-2. *** The Downey High School boys water polo team currently has an overall preseason record of 3-9 and will begin S.G.V.L. play Tuesday against Whitney at the Downey Aquatics Center. Downey then hosts cross-town rival Warren on Oct. 15, Gahr on Oct. 22 and league favorite Cerritos on Nov. 5. Downey is a young team this season after losing eight seniors off last year's squad. Key returners this year are junior Ryan Cruz, senior Nick Rodriguez and senior Wes Wilcox. New members to the varsity team include senior Joseph Flores, junior Frankie Gonzalez, junior Christian Gomez, junior Milon Hernandez, junior Nick Apodaca and sophomore Christian Hernandez. Coach Delhousay maintains that his players have practiced very hard since the beginning of summer and are making the transition to varsity water polo. The Vikings recently defeated Roosevelt and Pacifica but lost a close game to Sunny Hills. Downey will compete at the Costa Mesa Varsity Tournament next weekend, Oct. 11-12. Delhousay said it will be Downey's first year competing at this tournament.

********** Published: Oct. 3, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 25