Warriors Sports Roundup: April 14, 2021

By Sydney Andrade and Jeff Rawlinson Express staff writers The Winters High School Warriors took on the Live Oak High School Lions across the board last week. Football Fresh off last week’s win over Bradshaw Christian the Warriors traveled to Live Oak ready for another. The WHS football team competed in a Sacramento Valley League game, winning their first conference game they played in this season. Taking the field with their new found toughness the Warriors brought home their second win in as many weeks. The final score was 42-6 in favor of Winters. In the first half of the game the Warriors started slow. They ended the first quarter tied 6-6, and the ended the half ahead with a score of 14-6. At the half the Warriors made some adjustments to their game. Retaking the field in the second half they dominated the Lions on both sides of the ball, with an unstoppable offense and the defense’s solid line. “I was proud of the way we handled adversity again,” said varsity football coach Daniel Ward. “As a coach it’s always nice to have teams that play their best football in the second half,” he said, continuing, “Able to finish games. Now we need to work on getting off to better starts.” Running Back Carson Lowrie took on his leadership role again. In 24 carries he went 134 rushing yards touchdown. Lowrie also caught three passes and made a touchdown. Quarterback Matt Moore completed 12 passes out of 14 for 126 yards three of which were touchdowns. Moore also picked up 17 rushing yards and also had a touchdown. Tony Garcia led the Warriors in scoring. He made six catches and gained 82 yards. Three of Garcia’s receptions were touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball the Warriors played a strong game holding the Lions to 100 offensive yards. Lowrie, David Reyes and Logan Spears did their part to keep down their opponents yards, each making an interception. The Warriors will host Pioneer High School of Woodland for a Non-Conference game on April 16. Soccer Women’s Soccer On Tuesday, April 6 the WHS women’s soccer team played at home against Live Oak. While Live Oak has proven themselves to be extremely tough competition, Winters fought hard and ended the game with a tied score of 2-2. Hannah Flores scored with an assist from Karina Echeverria and Samantha Ramirez scored from a free kick outside the 18 yard box. While the Lions were able to get two goals in, Winters played a very strong defensive game against players who have been league scoring leaders for the past two years. In addition to a very strong defensive line, freshman Alondra Molina played a strong game in the midfield. “She played tough against a very physical team,” said coach Kim Olivas. Olivas said if Live Oak wasn’t awarded a penalty kick off a hand ball in the box the final score of the game may have been very different. The Warriors also played at home, again, on Thursday, April 8 against Pierce and dominated the game with a final score of 11-0. Yarethzy Sanchez led the Warriors in terms of scoring with three goals and one assist. Jewelee’ah Garcia and Fatima Guzman each scored two goals. Samantha Rameriz, Anahi Gutierrez, Itzel Rodriguez and Mallory Layne each scored one goal. Goals were assisted by Ruby Campos, who led with three assists, Pricilia Gonzalez had two assists, while Hannah Flores, Stephanie Angel Lopez, Karina Echeverria and Alondra Molina all had one assist each. Coach Olivas accredited this score to the athletes’ perseverance and consistency in taking shots whenever they could. “The girls just kept trying and spent time working and taking their turn to shoot,” said Olivas. Olivas said her offense was also very aware of knowing where the goalkeeper was without having to stop and look before taking a shot. In addition to a strong offensive side Olivas also gave a lot of glory to her defensive line and goal keeper. Marta Silva played the entire game in goal and had one save. Isabella Mehl and Liliana Balderas were anchoring the middle with Joanna Cueva and Victoria Banuelos playing strong defense. “Pierce has been through a lot of coaching changes in the past few years. I give those girls credit for keeping a great attitude and not quitting,” said Olivas. Mens soccer On Tuesday, April 6 the WHS men’s soccer team played an away game against Live Oak with a final score of 2-0. Coach Fernando Cervantes said the team played a hard game and made it extremely difficult for Live Oak to play. Winters had an extremely strong defense and did a great job clearing the ball to prevent Live Oak from scoring. “Everyone fought and played hard the whole game. There isn’t a single player that stood out more than another,” said Cervantes. Winters also played a very strong offensive game and was able to hold possession of the ball and apply immediate pressure on Live Oak when possession was conceded. Diaz Luis and Salvador Torres were both successful in scoring a goal for the Warriors. The Warriors played again on Thursday, April 8 against Pierce and ended the game with a final score of 6-1. Cervantes said they had a very strong offense. Grayson Roberts and Agustin Covarrubias both scored two goals each, while Luis and Jairo Barajas each scored one. The offense was making excellent passes and did a great job holding possession of the ball. “Jario made a very impressive free kick from a very long distance,” said Cervantes. Cervantes said he was extremely pleased with his defensive line and made special notice of Barajas and the way he stepped up his efforts in mid-field during the second half of the game.