By MATTHEW SIMON
Correspondent
BUENA PARK — Before Thursday night’s game, Warren football coach Raul Lara said he was hoping the Bears could produce a good game against Buena Park after losing to the Coyotes the last two years.
Lara got more than that as the Bears defeated Buena Park, 51-20.
“Right now, we’re playing pretty well,” Lara said. “But (we’ve) got to continue to play well. The key for us to have a successful season is we have to stay healthy. If we stay healthy I think we’ll be pretty good.”
Warren (2-1) didn’t waste any time getting to work against Buena Park, scoring on its opening drive when quarterback Chris Venegas connected with Robbie Colenzo for a 20-yard pass to give the team a 8-0 lead after a converted two-point conversion.
Buena Park got a healthy dose of Venegas throughout the game, as the Warren quarterback threw three more touchdowns – 13, 40 and 9 yards.
The Bears’ defense stifled the offense for Buena Park (1-2).
After a turnover on downs in the first quarter, the Bears drove 70 yards to take a 16-0 lead when Justin Mendoza scored on 1-yard run with 2:20 left.
Buena Park got on the board with 6:14 remaining in the second quarter to cut the lead to 16-7.
Warren answered with a 55-yard drive that was capped when Venegas connected with Desmond Carnes for a 40-yard touchdown to take a 22-7 lead.
From there, it was all Bears as they took a 37-7 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Warren fumbled, which led to another Buena Park touchdown that cut the lead to 37-14.
From there, Warren’s defense and special teams took over. Damond Callahan had two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown.
Mendoza scored on a kickoff return after Buena Park was called for an offside penalty.
At this point in the season, Lara just wants Warren’s players to focus on getting better before the start of San Gabriel Valley League play.
“League is going to be tough,” Lara said. “All our league is tough, so we need to come in nice and healthy and execute and I think we’ll be OK.”