Warren Leads Dorsey to Victory

Dorsey High’s Lamont Warren solidified his billing as the City’s top running back by rushing for 133 yards in 18 carries and scoring three touchdowns in the season opener Friday to help the Dons to a 36-0 nonleague victory at Manual Arts.

Warren, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior, is listed on several preseason All-American teams. A returning All-City back, he gained 1,271 yards and scored 25 touchdowns as a junior. His performance was a key to Dorsey’s defeating Carson for the 4-A Division championship.

“I’ve got to be happy with the way I started the season,” Warren said. “It’s been very hot the last few weeks, and two-a-day practices have been brutal. Add that to all of the hype, and I felt a little sluggish starting today. But once I got rolling, things seemed to go much smoother.”

Warren lost four yards on his first carry, but that was the only time the Manual Arts’ defense stopped him behind the line of scrimmage. He had runs of 22 and 47 yards.

His touchdown runs covered two and four yards, and he also scored on an 81-yard pass play in the second quarter to give Dorsey a 20-0 lead.

Maurice Collins scored on a two-yard run and Sharmone Shah caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ronald Peebles.

Although Warren accounted for 216 of his team’s 400 yards, Dorsey co-Coach Paul Knox said there is room for improvement.

“We don’t think Lamont played the best game he could,” Knox said. “He was a little slow at times. He is the center of our offense, though, so we know teams are gearing their defense to stop him.”

Manual Arts was outmanned. The Toilers accumulated only 60 yards of offense and fumbled twice. They failed to get two punts off, the second one resulting in a safety when the snap went out of the end zone.

Dorsey mixed the run and pass effectively. Senior quarterback Peebles completed five of eight passes for 114 yards.

The Dons’ defense registered six shutouts in 1988, and co-Coach Eugene McAdoo said to expect more of the same this season.

“This squad is loaded with talent,” McAdoo said. “The kids are seasoned and ready for some more shutouts.”