The Downey Vikings defeated the Notre Dame Knights from Sherman Oaks by a dominant score of 42 to 21.
Notre Dame was scheduled to be a tuff test for the Vikings with Downey High School head coach Jack Williams.
Williams said, “We scheduled them because we thought they were going to be tough.”
Downey set the tone for the game, immediately stopping with the Vikings defense shutting down the Knights on offense, with a quick three and out.
Downey’s offense led by 4-star Purdue commit junior quarterback, Oscar Rios on the very first play of offense threw a 45-yard touchdown to give Downey the lead.
“Our game plan was to go up top first and it is exactly what we did,” said Rios.
Rios finished the game with 297 yards for three touchdowns and an interception and with 108 rushing yards for a touchdown.
Offensive coordinator, Justin Alegria, states working with a talented quarterback such as Rios.
Alegria said, “It’s a lot fun to call plays. It’s a lot of fun watching film and breaking things down.”
He later praises Rios’ football IQ stating, “The football IQ is really high, he’s able to make checks he’s able to do things we don’t see.”
By halftime, Downey was leading by a score of 20-7 and the Vikings continued to stay in the lead in the second half.
Notre Dame was able to get on the scoreboard twice after half, but it wasn’t enough as Downey put up three more TD before the end.
The game concluded with a convincing Downey win, 42-21.
Downey knows this is a great way to start off the season.
Damien Martinez, junior linebacker, said, “We got a good team win but it doesn’t stop here. It is only game one, We had a lot of mistakes but we are going to fix them in film.”
The Vikings defense played very well throughout with defensive coordinator, Thomas Hollington.
“They played really well. They play really hard. We kind of have this thing that we’re not going to be the biggest team but we’re going to try to be the toughest team and I think we can accomplish that.” says Hollington.
After the defeat Notre Dame head coach Evan Yabu stated that Downey was a legit team.
“We knew they were a legit team and a good program. We knew they had some size and a very dynamic quarterback and really solid skill players. They were what we thought they were,” said Yabu.
Downey is looking to continue this form season long with a very tough schedule which includes two state champions in CIF division 5 Orange Vista and AIA conference 6A Red Mountain in Arizona, and of course their crosstown rival Warren High School.
