Sports briefs: Vikings roll over Gahr, 42-6

DOWNEY - The Downey High School football team traveled to Gahr High School last Friday night and defeated an overmatched Gladiator team 42-6.With the win, Downey improved to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play. Gahr fell to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. Downey will host Paramount (5-3, 2-1) this evening and Gahr travels to Dominguez (6-2, 3-0). Downey will travel to Dominguez next week in what could be the S.G.V.L. title game. The Downey offense was led by quarterback Jorge Reyna, who completed 12/16 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Reyna did not throw an interception. The Viking ground game was led by Reyna's 10 carries for 94 yards, senior Eric Carrillo's eight carries for 66 yards and a touchdown, sophomore Kiefer Enslin's six carries for 56 yards and senior Tristan Esparza's five carries for 39 yards. The Viking receiving corp were led by Esparza's two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, junior Ricky Wong's two catches for 58 yards, junior Jason Thomas' two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown, sophomore Darrian Franklin's two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown and Carrillo's two catches for 34 yards. Viking kicker Mario Galvan was 6/6 on PAT attempts and was 0/1 on field goal attempts. Downey's defense was led by junior Jason Cook's seven assisted tackles, junior Miguel Esquitin's two solo and four assisted tackles, junior Manny Ramirez's three solo and two assisted tackles, senior Nick Robles' two solo and three assisted tackles and senior Juwan Pleze's one solo and four assisted tackles. The Viking defense also came up with four interceptions. Cook had two picks that were returned for 62 yards, Franklin had one returned for 40 yards and Thomas had the other pick with no return. ** The Warren High School football team fell to 0-8 overall and 0-3 in S.G.V.L. play after suffering a 70-0 defeat against Dominguez last week. With the win, Dominguez improved to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in league play. Warren will host the Lynwood Knights (2-6, 0-3) tonight at Justice Stadium. Both the Bears and Knights are looking for their first league win. The Bears will wrap up their season next Friday night at home against Paramount (5-3, 2-1). Dominguez and cross-town rival Downey are on a collision course set for next Friday, Nov. 8, at Dominguez for the San Gabriel Valley League title. Downey must first defeat Paramount at home tonight and Dominguez must beat Gahr at Dominguez tonight. Maxpreps currently has Dominguez ranked 186th in the state and Downey ranked right under them at 187th. Dominguez High School will be the place to be for football next Friday night. ** The Warren High School boys' cross country team competed at the Mt. SAC Invitational last Friday and Saturday. The Bears finished third out of 600 competing teams and are now ranked third in the state and second in the latest C.I.F. southern section Division I poll. Brea Olinda finished first with a team time of 76:39, Arcadia finished second with a team time of 76:56, Warren finished third with a team time of 77:16, Dana Hills finished fourth with a team time of 78:12 and Burbank finished fifth with a team time of 78:31. The Bears were paced by Benjamin Gonzalez's 14:57, Andres Barragan's 15:15, Faustino Diaz's 15:32, Victor Hernandez's 15:39, Miguel Cabada's 15:53, Jonathan Gonzalez's 16:07 and Luis Graciano's 16:46. The five fastest times counted toward the Bears' third place finish. Coach Miranda is extremely proud of how hard his runners have worked and the sacrifices they have made. Warren's goal remains "to get to state." ** The Downey High School boys' water polo team currently has an overall record of 10-12 and are 4-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play. The Vikings defeated cross-town rival Warren 13-8 on Oct. 15, defeated Whittier 11-6 on Oct. 17, lost to Atwater 17-4 on Oct. 18, defeated Gahr 14-6 on Oct. 22, defeated Paramount 16-4 on Tuesday and played Los Altos Wednesday (score unavailable at press time). The Vikings have won five of their last six games and are looking forward to a strong finish to their season. The Vikings will host Cerritos (8-8, 3-0) on Tuesday in their league finale for the S.G.V.L. title. The top three teams in league play will qualify for the C.I.F. Division 4 playoffs. Last season Cerritos, Downey and Warren all qualified for postseason play and Gahr received a wildcard birth. Redlands East Valley (14-2), El Segundo (12-3), Arroyo Grande (16-6) and Los Osos (17-7) will be top seeds once the playoffs start. ** The Downey High School girls' volleyball team lost their first San Gabriel Valley League match in several years on Tuesday at home. Downey (14-9, 6-1) lost to Gahr (9-10, 4-3) 20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22 and 8-15. Despite the loss, the Lady Vikings had already clinched the S.G.V.L. title and are 2013 league champions. Downey closed out league play yesterday against Paramount at Paramount (score unavailable at press time). The Lady Vikings will be the number one seed from the San Gabriel Valley League once the playoffs start. Gahr (9-10-1, 4-3) and Warren (10-13, 4-3 ) are currently tied for second place in league play. Paramount (10-10, 2-4) and Lynwood (12-5, 2-5) are in fourth and fifth places, respectively. ** The Warren High School girls' tennis team are the 2013 San Gabriel Valley League champions. The Bears finished their regular season with an overall record of 14-4 and league record of 11-1. After defeating cross-town rival Downey 9-9 on criteria Oct. 17, the Bears beat Lynwood 15-3 on Oct. 22 and Paramount 15-3 on Oct. 24 to clinch the title. Downey, the 2012 S.G.V.L. champion, finished 2nd with an overall record of 11-5 and league record of 9-3. Paramount finished third with an overall record of 11-8 and league record of 7-5, Gahr finished fourth with an overall record of 1-10 and league record of 1-8 and Lynwood finished fifth with an overall and league record of 0-10. Dominguez did not put a team on the court. The Warren-Downey matches highlighted the best of San Gabriel Valley League play with the three matches finishing in 10-8, 9-9 and 9-9 scores. Warren defeated Downey at Warren 10-8 on Sept. 24. Downey defeated Warren 9-9 (on criteria) on Oct. 4 and Warren defeated Downey last week 9-9 (on criteria) to grind out their title. Warren hosted league finals this week to determine a league champion. Top seeded senior Erin Freeman of Downey and second seeded junior Isa Lopez of Warren are on a collision course to meet again in the league championship individual final. Coach Starksen is very pleased with the effort and improvement her team has made and continues to make this season. Starksen's focus remains "to play hard and get better every day." The C.I.F. Division 3 tennis playoffs will begin shortly and the Bears are looking to make a run. Standing in their way will be Murrieta Valley (15-0, 9-0), Arroyo Grande (14-1, 10-0) and Los Osos (17-4, 10-0). A fourth match against Downey is not out of the picture either.

********** Published: Oct. 31, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 29