QB issue doesn’t stop Downey football from routing Paramount

PARAMOUNT — Downey utilized large plays connected peculiar teams and defence to dispose of Paramount earlier the archetypal fractional was done Friday nighttime — making explicit the stark spread separating the San Gabriel Valley League’s 2 existent contenders and the programs hoping to vie with them — but the visiting Vikings’ 40-0 romp produced much questions than answers.

Downey (5-1 overall, 2-0 SGVL) was ascendant throughout, getting large games from Noel Paez, who stepped successful for injured backmost Aidan Chiles and threw for 174 yards and 3 second-half touchdowns, and from a swarming defence that held the Pirates (2-4, 1-1) until the 4th fourth beneath 40 yards of discourtesy and to conscionable 3 archetypal downs, 2 connected penalties.

The Vikings’ 19-0 halftime lead, aft Tion Sturgis returned an interception 53 yards for a touchdown, seemed utterly insurmountable. And truthful it was, arsenic Paramount — SGVL champions the past 3 autumn campaigns — dropped a league crippled successful autumn for the archetypal clip since November 2016.

“We knew coming into this game, careless of records, Paramount plays america tough,” said Downey caput manager Jack Williams, who is 5-7 against the Pirates. “They deliberation we’re their rivals, and they ever measurement up, and we knew we were going to get that astatine the beginning.

“Our extremity this week was to smash them successful the rima aboriginal and support connected smashing and instrumentality distant immoderate anticipation and each that stuff.”

The Vikings did truthful from the start, recovering the chipped opening kickoff into Paramount territory astatine the 30, and rapidly driving for a 6-0 lead, with Ameer Ahmed moving the last 5 yards. When they got the shot back, aft a antiaircraft three-and-out, they marched 80 yards for different touchdown, connected Paez’s 2-yard run.

Then Sturgis’ interception and touchdowns connected the archetypal 3 second-half possessions — Paez passes to Ian Hernandez (for 41 yards), Tryse Redford (25) and Sharif Bell (25) — and the timepiece was moving astir the full 4th quarter.

The Vikings, No. 5 successful the Press-Telegram rankings, moved methodically, successful starts and stops, often grinding retired pugnacious yardage earlier thing clicked to bring a caller acceptable of downs. They got bully enactment from Keion Andrew, a safety/receiver who was fixed a spell successful the backfield — successful spot of fourth-year moving backmost Alberto Ruiz, who missed his 3rd consecutive crippled with a bottommost wounded — and ran 11 times for 82 yards, 27 of them connected a transportation near to acceptable up Paez’s TD run.

Paez, who had thrown 96 passes successful 9 2021 appearances coming in, grew successful assurance arsenic things proceeded and finished 11 of 20, completing his past 4 passes for 98 yards and the TDs. His duty going guardant isn’t set, astatine slightest not publicly, but connection from wrong Downey’s programme has Chiles done for the year.

Williams has provided nary presumption study connected the Los Alamitos transfer, who this play has completed 70 of 96 passes for 1,187 yards and 10 touchdowns with lone 2 interceptions, since helium “hurt his wrist” successful past week’s triumph implicit Gahr, the amended to support opponents guessing. Chiles wasn’t disposable Friday but “we’ll see” astir adjacent week’s location crippled against Dominguez (6-1, 1-1), helium said.

“Aidan does immoderate antithetic things, and our discourtesy is simply a small different,” Williams said. “I don’t know, I’ve got to ticker movie and see, but we are a antithetic team. … I thought Noah did a large occupation of orchestrating our offense, not doing excessively much. He hasn’t played successful a while. He was retired 2 weeks and didn’t signifier (ahead of the league opener). He’s conscionable trying to get his limb spot back. He’s trying to get his legs back.”

Paez said helium needed to “be a leader” arsenic Downey maneuvers toward a rubric showdown with No. 3 Warren (6-0, 2-0), its archrival, successful an Oct. 29 SGVL finale.

“I person to person each these guys spot successful me.” helium said. “I person a batch of unit connected my shoulders, due to the fact that that’s big-time losses with our moving backmost and big-time quarterback.”

Paramount, which hopes to conflict Dominguez for the league’s 3rd guaranteed CIF Southern Section playoff berth, moved the shot efficaciously lone the past clip it had the ball, driving from its 31 to the Vikings 1 earlier fumbling connected 4th down. Xavier Williams carried 9 times for 66 yards connected the drive, including 4 successive first-down trots totaling 49 yards — much than doubling the Pirates’ full discourtesy — and a 12-yard sprint to the 4 connected a fake field-goal attempt.

“We’re struggling for sure,” said caput manager Matt Howard, whose programme has diminished successful endowment aft transfers followed graduation of a prized people aft reaching the Division 4 semifinals 2 years ago. “Inexperience and not a batch of shot intelligence. So we struggle.”