It’s official: our teachers and staff beat Warren in the 1^st Annual Faculty Basketball game on Nov. 18^th. The beginning of the game started like any other Downey vs. Warren game with people coming from all corners to watch and bleachers packed with students. But now that the game is over Downey can proudly say this: “Our staff has never lost a basketball game against Warren’s staff.”

The most valuable player on the team was, undeniably, Aaron Hobbensiefken, or Hobbes for short. The crowd even chanted “MVP” after Hobbes made a basket or lay-up.  During school hours, Hobbes is the head coach of the Boy’s Freshman team, teaches Modern American History and A.P. U.S. History. David Rivera, one of the school’s basketball players, was in the stands to show support for his favorite player Hobbes.

“Mr. Hobbes is a stud-beast,” Rivera said, “and that’s why I think Downey won.”

Hobbes led the team in scoring throughout the game and ended with a whopping 23 points, more than one-third of the teams total points. Hobbes was excited to play against our rivals, even though he graduated from Warren. He felt weird putting on the Downey jersey before the game started, but once he started playing, it all went away. On the court, Hobbes was confident they were going to win.

“After we got an early lead,” said Hobbes, “I didn’t think they were going to catch up.”

Some other starters for the game were coaches for the other basketball teams. Nathan Harris, head coach of the Girl’s Varsity team, was a starter for the game and played tough defense against Warren’s guards. Head coach of the Boy’s J.V. team, Mark Morales, also started the game and kept the team’s offense moving smoothly. Late in the fourth quarter, Morales knocked down crucial free throws to maintain the lead over Warren. Not only basketball coaches played a successful game, however Mark Jones, the new Girl’s Varsity Water Polo coach assisted as well. Jones came off the bench and played a solid game with five points. Darren Peterson, a substitute for the school, was a powerhouse in the post. Peterson played aggressive defense and didn’t let anyone score on him, even if he had to foul them.

No one could possibly guess the outcome of the game, because no one had ever seen a faculty game before. Warren took an early lead in the first quarter by making some easy lay-ups against Downey’s defense and although they were ahead, by the end of the first quarter, with a score of 12-8, Downey rallied back in the second. Hobbes sank some shots and Peterson was down low for the offensive rebounds. Their defense also picked up in the second quarter. Harris forced some tough shots and kept the ball from getting to Warren’s post players. Downey scored four times as much as Warren that quarter and, by the end of the half, had a moderate lead over the Bears with a score of 28-17.

The start of the second half was parallel with the first: both crowds cheered their loudest and the players ran onto the court ready to play. Christen Olivas, one of Downey’s football players, was in the stands watching the game.

“It was exciting, because it was against Warren,” Olivas said. “Anything against Warren gets the blood rushing.”

The Bear’s shooting percentage increased in the third quarter and they started making more perimeter shots, but Downey’s team defense wouldn’t be washed out that easily. The third quarter ended with Downey leading by only seven points. The final quarter made the crowd nervous; Downey got into early foul trouble giving the Bear’s some easy free throws, they had to make up for that with some clutch free throws. Jones and Harris got to the free throw line and held their lead over Warren by making the easy shots. Within the last minutes of the game, Downey had to make one last defensive stand against Warren; and just like that, Downey clinched their victory over the Bears with the final score of 61-53.

The 1^st Annual Faculty Basketball game was a success for Downey. The players of both teams had a great time and everyone left the gym with a smile in their face.