Warren High School defeated the Downey Vikings in an amazing back-and-forth game held at Sofi Stadium.

The hype around this game was surreal as this is one of the biggest high school rivalries in Southern California.

Both teams’ energy was off the roof during warmups and the audience in attendance complimented their energy.

Over 5 thousand people were in attendance for this game the building felt electrifying you could tell this game meant a lot for both sides.

The Vikings were able to strike first in this game driving down the field with all run plays and taking the early 7-0 lead on Warren.

From here Warren couldn’t get much going in the first quarter but at times had multiple opportunities to put points on the board but failed to do so.

The Bears had two drives that ended in no points after getting into the red zone but failing on two fourth-down conversions.

Downey wasn’t able to capitalize on those failed conversions as Warren was able to make multiple defensive stops after allowing a touchdown on the first drive.

After a quiet first quarter for the Bears, they finally woke up on offense as QB Madden Iamaleava was able to connect with Jordan Ross to tie the game.

Just when you think that may have been a momentum shifter for Warren, the Vikings’ defense made a huge play by getting a pick six putting them back up by seven.

The Bears were able to respond to that by scoring a touchdown by the same duo of Iamaleava to Ross to tie this game up at the half.

In the third quarter, both teams would score a touchdown making this a tie game once again.

But in the fourth Warren took the lead with 9 minutes left in the game and was able to hold onto that lead for the rest of the game and took home the victory.

After the game both teams were super emotional, Warren feeling they were on top of the world while Downey looked deflated after the loss.

One player who felt the emotions after the win was Julian Garcia, “It’s crazy to get an opportunity like this and show what we can do, this is a blessing to get this opportunity,” said Garcia.

Garcia had the Mexican flag around his shoulders and expressed what it meant to him to represent his culture in the sport of football, “You don’t see a lot of people like this, you don’t see a lot of people from this culture come out and play like this, so it’s a blessing to put this on every Friday for the culture,” Garcia explained.

“I wouldn’t say there was extra pressure added, I prepare for moments like this, for big stages like this, and hope to play here one day,” said Iamaleava after the big win.

Assistant coach Chad Bell wasn’t entirely happy that Downey High decided to head to the locker rooms almost immediately after the game ended.

“Yeah, it’s great, it’s a good experience for the boys, good fanbase on both sides, just a great atmosphere and good game, I wish they could get along a little better at the end, but it was a good experience,” assistant coach Bell said.

This was a big win for Warren and even though Downey didn’t get the results they hoped for they should be proud of themselves.

Both teams showed out and should be proud of themselves regardless of the results, not many times in life will you get an opportunity like this to play on this big of a stage.