On Monday, Jan. 19, Quiz Bowl teams from both Downey and Warren participated in some friendly competition of trivia in the DHS library.

Being the first time ever hosting a scrimmage against Warren, neither team knew what to expect.

Senior and Quiz Bowl captain, Aron Ramirez, got to see his team in action in a more serious environment, rather than at a regular practice.

“I didn’t know what to expect because this was the first year we did any type of preseason scrimmages,” Ramirez said. “I didn’t know how we’d be this early in the season. In the years past, Quiz Bowl has never met regularly before regionals.”

Downey’s team members prepared by reading the Skills Handbook and keeping updated with the latest news. It was important for the team to be optimistic.

Isaac Hernandez, 11, a Downey Quiz Bowl participant, helped his team speed through each round. After answering one question after another, he admitted that he partially owed his success to his Quiz Bowl captain.

“A key factor, I feel, that helped us was Aron’s mentality and positivity,” Hernandez said. “It set the tone for the team and the aura of believing we would do well engulfed us.”

Downey’s team came prepared with a total of 18 players, while Warren had 7.

The Downey team arrived professionally dressed in Skills USA attire, while the Warren team arrived in casual, every-day wear.

Downey had a total of 4 teams, and Warren had 2. In the first round, Downey Team 1 led with 6 points, and Warren Team 2 fell behind with -6 points. In the final round, Downey Team 3 led with 17 points. Warren’s combined team finished with a total of zero points. With all scores combined, Downey ended with twenty-nine points. Warren ended in with -11 points.

“I was very impressed with the performances of all the teams. When I compared the scores with those Warren got, I basically wanted to kiss them all because we completely annihilated Warren’s teams,” Ramirez said.

Downey won with a forty point difference.

Warren Quiz Bowl captain, Refat Ashan, agreed the scrimmage was a good idea to see how the teams were performing so early in the season.

“It really opened my eyes to where we are at this point,” Ashan said.

Downey’s preparation and enthusiasm led them to victory, while Warren, on the other hand, struggled to keep up.

“I feel Warren’s team wasn’t as well prepared or oriented in a way that would’ve helped. They seemed bright, but failed to show it. It seemed they did not give it much thought,” Hernandez said.

The quizards are now preparing for their Skills USA Regionals on Jan. 31 in Norwalk.