Sports briefs: Warren-Downey clash

DOWNEY - The Warren High School girls' tennis team currently has an overall record of 11-4 and are 8-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play.The Bears defeated Lynwood at Lynwood 13-5 on Oct. 10, defeated Paramount at Paramount 11-7 the following day, and beat Gahr at Gahr 15-3 on Oct. 15. Warren hosted Downey yesterday for the league championship (score unavailable at press time). Warren will conclude its S.G.V.L. schedule by hosting Lynwood next Tuesday and Paramount on Thursday. Junior standout Isa Lopez continues to play well for the Bears and will help lead Warren into C.I.F. team and individual matches. The Downey High School girls' tennis team currently has an overall record of 9-4 and are 7-2 in S.G.V.L. play. The Lady Vikings defeated Gahr at Downey 13-5 on Oct. 8, defeated Paramount at Paramount 13-5 on Oct. 10 and beat Lynwood at Lynwood on Oct. 15. Downey will conclude its S.G.V.L. schedule by traveling to Gahr on Monday before hosting Paramount on Tuesday. Senior standout Erin Freeman will help lead the Lady Vikings into C.I.F. team and individual matches. Things are certainly starting to heat up in league play. Both teams will qualify for the C.I.F. Division III playoffs and perhaps, another match against each other once there. Coaches Mary Starksen of Warren and Denise Diego of Downey, and their players, are excited for the opportunity that the playoffs will bring. ** The Warren High School football team fell to 0-6 overall and 0-1 in San Gabriel Valley League play after a 28-7 loss at Gahr last Friday night. With the win, the Gladiators improved to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in league play. Warren will host cross-town rival Downey tonight in the second of five league games for both teams. Downey comes into tonight's game with an overall record of 3-3 and a S.G.V.L. record of 1-0. The Vikings defeated an overmatched Lynwood team 35-7 at home last Friday night without the services of standout junior running back Justin Huff. Downey, Gahr and Dominguez are all 1-0 and Lynwood, Paramount and Warren are all 0-1 after the first week of league games. Gahr defeated Warren with the help of standout freshman quarterback Kobee Lagarde, who completed 13 of 24 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. The Gahr ground game was led by juniors Leotis Johnson III and William Latham. Johnson carried the ball four times for 83 yards and Latham carried the ball three times for 43 yards. The Gladiator run game accumulated 138 yards on 15 carries. Gahr's receiving corps were led by Latham's three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown, Taylor Williams' three catches for 35 yards and freshman Elijah Hicks' one reception for 20 yards and a touchdown. Warren travels to Dominguez next Friday to play the Dons (1-0) and then host Lynwood (0-1) on Nov. 1 and Paramount (0-1) on Nov. 8. Coach Gil Jimenez, his staff and Bear players are still working hard to get their first win. Warren seniors Moses Alanis, Mike Vega, Simon Figueroa and Zaahid Summerville continue to grind it out on the gridiron. ** The Downey High School football team defeated Lynwood last Friday night at home 35-7. The Vikings improved their overall record to 3-3 and are now 1-0 in San Gabriel Valley League play. With the loss, the Knights fell to 2-4 overall and are 0-1 in league play. The Knights will host Dominguez (1-0) tonight. Downey will travel to cross-town rival Warren for the city showdown tonight at 7 p.m. Downey was led on offense by junior quarterback Jorge Reyna's 11/14 passing for 195 yards. Reyna had one touchdown and one interception. The Viking rushing attack was led by junior Josh Flores' 12 carries for 108 yards, senior Eric Carrillo's 15 carries for 75 yards, Jorge Reyna's 12 carries for 89 yards, senior Tristan Esparza's two carries for 32 yards, and junior Jason Thomas' two carries for 19 yards. The Viking ground game amassed 345 yards on 45 carries. The Viking receiving corps were led by Conor Hill's 4 catches for 56 yards, Tristan Esparza's three catches for 41 yards, Eric Carrillo's two catches for 11 yards, Jason Thomas' one catch for 78 yards and Darrian Franklin's one catch for nine yards. Downey senior kicker Mario Galvan converted on 3 of 4 PAT attempts. He did not attempt a field goal. The Downey defense was led by Tristan Esparza's three solo and four assisted tackles, Darrian Franklin's two solo and five assisted tackles, Eduardo Preciado's three solo and three assisted tackles, Nick Robles' five assisted tackles, Jacob Cook's four assisted tackles, Miguel Esquitin's one solo and two assisted tackles, Patrick Smith's three assisted tackles and Stacy Chukwumezie's one assisted tackle. Downey has defeated Warren in each of their last three match-ups. Downey won in 2010, 27-16; in 2011, 28-6; and in 2012, 42-7. Warren's last win against Downey came four years ago, in 2009, when standout running back Jesse Callier led the Bears to a 49-14 win and the S.G.V.L. title. ** The Downey Calvary Chapel Grizzlies fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in Academy League play after losing to Brethren Christian 55-0 last Friday night at Warren. DCC will host Crean Lutheran tonight at Downey High School as the Downey-Warren game takes place across town at Warren High School. Crean Lutheran is 0-6 overall. St. Margaret's (6-0, 1-0) and Brethren Christian (5-1, 1-0) have emerged as the top two two teams in Academy League play. Sage Hill (3-4, 0-1) and DCC (2-3, 0-1) will be playing for third place and Crean Lutheran (0-6, 0-0) is still looking for their first win. DCC struggled against Brethren Christian and found themselves down 27-0 at the end of the first quarter. DCC slowed down the Warriors in the second quarter and limited Brethren Christian to seven points but trailed 34-0 at the half. The Warriors tacked on 14 points in the third quarter and went on to win 55-0. The DCC offense was led by sophomore quarterback Jared Welch's 2/4 passing for 14 yards. The Grizzly ground game was led by junior Jeremy Hernandez's 17 carries for 57 yards and junior Sam Arcalas' 17 carries for 27 yards. The Grizzlies were led on defense by juniors Anthony Alas, Joseph Santillan and Jeremy Hernandez, and sophomore Jared Welch, who all recorded three solo tackles.

********** Published: Oct. 17, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 27