Independent Player of the Week

When Marina High beat Edison for just the fourth time in 26

meetings on the football field last Friday night, Viking outside

linebacker Kyle Warren had a major say as to the outcome of the 28-20

final score.

A transfer student from Bishop Montgomery High, Warren’s

enthusiastic play on the field was infectious to the rest of his

teammates and equally as irritating to the Charger offense.

The senior, the Independent’s Player of the Week, finished the

Sunset League opener with six tackles (one for a loss), one sack, and a

caused incompletion. But it was his defensive stand on Edison’s

fourth-and-seven play from the Charger 47-yard line in the game’s final

minute that punctuated his outstanding performance.

With Edison’s Richard Schwartz fading back to pass, Warren charged

full-force towards the junior quarterback and tipped Schwartz’s throw,

and the errant pass was intercepted by teammate John Manley.

Marina ran out the final 40 seconds of the game, and the Vikings’

celebration was on.

“That was a huge win for us, and I was really pumped up to play

Edison,” said the 6-foot-2, 210 Warren. “It’s just a thrill to be out

there competing, and a thrill to beat a good team like Edison.”

Warren relishes these victories - now three in all this season for

the Vikings. That’s because when he transferred from Bishop Montgomery,

he left a school that had gone 0-10 during his junior year.

Yet Warren’s senior season has been anything but smooth.

After recording two sacks in Marina’s season opening win over

Corona del Mar, Warren suffered a strained MCL on the first play of the

Vikings’ 21-21 tie the following week with Newport Harbor. He sat out the

Upland game, then returned to action the following week - although he

split playing time - against Westminster.

His first full game back came Oct. 8 against Mission Viejo.

But his best performance came against Edison.

“Adrenaline takes away all the pain,” Warren said of his desire to

return to the line-up. “I’ve been having a great time here at Marina.

It’s a cool school and there’s a good chemistry on this team. When I went

down against Newport Harbor, I knew I was hurt, but I wasn’t about to let

that be my last game.”

Warren has been playing football only since his freshman year at

Bishop Montgomery, a fact that seems improbable when you see him in

action. He had been recruited by college scouts during his junior year at

Montgomery, but was lost in the shuffle when he transferred over the

Marina.

“Kyle filled our missing link when he transferred here,” Marina

Coach Mark Rehling said of Warren. “He’s an intense player but a really

personable, fun kid to be around.”

Offensive backfields are finding out about Warren’s intensity the

hard way. Then again, performances such as the one he turned in against

Edison might not make the likeable teenagers a well-kept secret anymore.

“I enjoy annihilating running backs,” Warren added. “It’s fun to

make my way into a backfield and disrupt a play. That’s always my goal -

that, plus making the playoffs and winning a league championship.”