The sweet taste of victory

Rodas Hailu and Brenda Lopez

October 26, 2012

After the end of the game, the Downey Vikings football players meet in the middle of the field to celebrate their win against Warren on Oct. 5. “Win or lose, when I’m doing Viking Pride, I sill feel proud to be a Viking,” Francisco Gomez, 12, said, “it’s all about brotherhood.”

As the school year commences, the Downey Vikings have successfully dominated their eternal enemy, the Warren Bears, in unprecedented wins in four fall season sports.

For as long as can be remembered, the Downey Vikings have had a bitter relationship with the Bears across town, always striving to dominate the furry beasts in all aspects of school, including athletics. The Vikings beat the Bears in girls volleyball, boys water polo, football, and girls tennis.

In the annual Dig Pink game on Sep. 27, the girls volleyball team confronted the Bears, achieving another win for the Vikings. In the first two sets, the Vikings continuously crushed the Bears, but by the third set, Warren attempted to catch up to the home team. When the Bears were trying capture the win, senior Joy Miley tried to ignore their persistence.

“Well, I’d rather it be hard than easy,” Miley said. “I really like a challenge.”

Boys water polo played a confident game against the Bears that resulted in a 12-4 win on Oct. 2. Although the Vikings were neck-and-neck in the first and second quarter with their foe, the team made sure their priorities were in place in order to take victory. By the third and fourth quarter, the boys gained momentum to defeat the rivals. For senior David Lumbreras, the game ment more to him and his team.

“The game gave us [the Water Polo team] higher self-esteem,” Lumbreras said.

In the biggest game of the year, the Viking football team met its opponent in the Allen Layne Stadium on Oct. 5. Senior Mario Galvin, knowing who the competition was, did not feel any nerves going into the game.

“I wasn’t nervous but it was my first Downey vs. Warren game, so it was very overwhelming,” Galvin said.

Within all four quarters, the home team continuously crushed the Bears, who were struggling to keep up. Eventually, the Vikings took glory and won 42-7, flattening out the chances for a Warren win.

Not all sports teams went through an easy process to achieve a win. The girls tennis team encountered their struggles against the Bears. The girls had played Warren twice before, each school winning a game. This third match would be the tie-breaker against both schools, determining who would become San Gabriel Valley League Champions. However, the day before the match, players Michelle Morales and Elizabeth Aceves were injured, forcing their partners to be paired up with another student for the Doubles matches.

“We were so confident about winning, but because of switching the teams around, we were afraid that we weren’t going to win,” senior Alejandra Roque said.

Putting their worries aside, the girls tennis team obtained a double victory on October 16; the girls not only achieved a 10-8 win over the Bears, but they also became league champions for the first time since the sport of tennis has been introduced at Downey High School.

The Downey vs. Warren rivalry brought out the spirit of many students who enjoyed the war between the schools. Sophomore Eleni Makaafi got her taste of the competition when she went to her first game against Warren. As a football enthusiast, Makaafi went to her first football game as a high school student. Makaafi noticed, however, that the spirit of the Vikings was quite low that evening.

“I love football games, so I get pretty loud,” Makaafi said. “I stood on the bleachers and I just started screaming ‘Sat the Quarterback down’ so Downey could get pumped to snatch the ball.”

Although there will be many opportunities to witness a Downey win over Warren, these Viking victories will ring within the halls for all to hear.

About the Contributors

Rodas Hailu, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Rodas Hailu, Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Downey Legend, leads the 2013-2014 staff into a busy and exciting year, introducing them to the journalistic world and all its wonders. The writer and photographer first entered the online newspaper as a junior, landing the position of Student Life Editor and turned heads when her stories revealed a seemingly natural instinct for investigative journalism. One year in newspaper left Hailu craving more: a position of leadership where she could let her ideas flourish and create a more successful website. As this year’s editor, she hopes to lead her team into greatness and provide a comfortable workspace. According to the senior, there is no room for mediocrity in the online newspaper. “I don’t want the writers and photographers to be apathetic at all,” Hailu said. “If they are in The Downey Legend, they are in The Downey Legend.” Full force and with great efforts, the talented student hopes to heighten the newspaper’s popularity and implement new ideas, hopefully capturing a new, wider audience. The senior, who is often described as an old soul, admires classical music and is moved by each powerful note in pieces composed by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Khatchaturian. A violinist of 7 years, her appreciation for works of art extends to cinema, and claims to be an avid movie watcher. “I really love to watch movies with a good script, amazing characters, and wonderful cinematography,” Hailu said. With a sixth sense for different forms of human creativity, she hopes to become a student in a liberal arts college and experience the intimacy of a less populated university. The future awaits Hailu, a force to be reckoned with in the arts field, and she predicts she will be living on her own because of her “innate independence.” Living day by day and constantly telling herself, “whatever happens, happens,” she tunnels her focus on The Downey Legend and its future success. A true leader with a mind coiled with layers of depth, Hailu reveals bits and pieces of her vision through her various works or art, photographs and stories.

Brenda Lopez, Writer

Brenda Lopez, 11, is a writer for The Downey Legend, and she is very involved in school. Some of the clubs she belongs to are: Eco Club, Art Club, DHS Amigos, and the Pop Culture Club. Lopez is currently not involved in any sports but is considering joining track and field. Some of her hobbies include dancing, reading, and writing poetry. She joined The Downey Legend because it was a cool new way to get involved in school. Lopez also joined because she didn’t know much about journalism and she wanted to learn a new way of writing. Through journalism, Lopez hopes to expand her writing skills. She is also a very kind and loving person and demonstrates this with her puppy, Luna, who she loves as if it were her child. One of the quotes Lopez loves comes from her favorite musician John Lennon is “Living is easy with eyes closed.” She interprets this quote as “Living life is easy when you don’t want to see the reality,” Lopez said. Lopez hopes to move out right after graduating from high school and attend Barnard University in NYC. There she would like to major in something that relates to writing. A special moment for Lopez was last year when she went to Laguna Beach with her brother, for her birthday. It was special because everything was perfect that day and her brother whom she hardly spends time with was there. Lopez is very enthusiastic for The Downey Legend and hopes to take on special and exciting tasks.

Monique Munoz, Co-Photo Editor

Soon to graduate from Downey High School, 17-year-old senior Monique Munoz is a photographer and the Co-Photo Editor for The Downey Legend. Although this is her first year shooting for The Legend, she has had a passion for photography since her sophomore year. “I always have a camera with me whether it is my Canon Rebel or my little carry around camera,” Munoz said. “I take pictures all of the time in random places, looking to capture unforgettable moments.” Her goal is to be the best photographer on The Downey Legend staff. Munoz is also a photographer for Downey’s High’s yearbook. Aside from taking pictures, she enjoys cooking, dancing, and watching basketball and football. One of her dreams for high school is to participate in the powder puff game. Munoz wants to obtain a minor in photography attending Cal State Long Beach, and she plans to finish her schooling at UCLA. Because of her love for children, her main desire is to major in the medical field and become a pediatrician. She decided this as her dream career because of how well she is with children due to constantly having to take care of her younger siblings. “I wouldn’t mind working as a photographer on my breaks and vacations from my career, because photographing is more of a passion then a job to me,” Munoz said. She also mentioned she wishes to travel the world to photograph portraits, candid and landscape photos. “No matter what it takes, I am determined to achieve all my goals and believe I am capable of accomplishing anything I want to,” Munoz said.

Lauren Montano, Co-Copy Editor

Senior Lauren Montano is an aspiring photographer for The Downey Legend. As a cheerful photojournalist, she is inspired by her settings when taking images of the everyday life of Downey High’s students. For Montano, anything that captures the vibe of a certain place should be photograph-worthy. Her main source of inspiration comes from National Geographic, since the magazine depicts both professional and amateur photographs. This exuberant student hopes to one day be employed by this magazine. Montano regularly checks Vanity Fair and The New York Times for their visually enticing photographs and in-depth articles. Personally, the vivacious photographer prefers to take black and white photography, since it is more timeless and isn’t set in one period. Montano finds pleasure in listening to music, discovering new artists, and reading. “Books give a unique perspective of the world,” Montano said. Author Zora Neale Hurston has had a huge impact of Montano’s life, allowing her to appreciate the writing style of an American author. In her free time, traveling and discovering the world also satisfies Montano, reaching destinations as far as Spain. As an interested Liberal Arts major, Montano hopes to attend Arizona State University or The University of Denver. Whatever Montano chooses to do in life, all she needs is a little inspiration from her colleagues to make her dreams come true.

Celeste Lira, Photo Editor

Senior Celeste Lira is this year’s 2012-2013 Photo Editor for The Downey Legend. In hopes of becoming a better photographer, Lira landed a position on staff to allow her to get more experience in becoming a professional photographer. “It sounded fun and it would be a good experience being part of this school since I just moved to this school sophomore year and not living in Downey and all,” Lira said. Taking Photo 1 last year, Lira took an interest in photography, but she didn’t know she was going to like it as much as she does now. She continued to pursue her new interest and is also currently in Advanced Photo. This year will be her first and last with The Downey Legend, so she hopes to make the most of it. Her goals for this year are to get more students excited about the online newspaper, thus gaining popularity for the site. Aside from photography, Lira plays guitar and plans to one day travel the world.