Every year since 1958, all of Downey Unified School District has come together for the annual hometown rivalry football game. In recent years, the popularity of this event has significantly increased. Although there is no documentation of exactly when the Downey vs. Warren football games gained such popularity, we can look at some history and facts to put together a basic idea. Downey High School was founded on August 16, 1901, as Los Nietos Valley Union High School, the eleventh high school in the Los Angeles County School System, but the first classes did not take place until construction of the first buildings began in 1903. The high school was then renamed Downey Union High School in 1919, as it combined high school and junior high school students. Some time in the early 1950s, Downey High School converted to just teaching high school students, as the four junior high schools, south, north, east, and west (now Griffiths, Doty, Sussman, and Stauffer) opened. In 1956, Earl Warren High School was established, marking the beginning of what would become one of the most well-known and anticipated rivalries in the county. In 1958, the two high schools played each other for the very first time, and though there is no record of who won. We know the earliest recorded victory was in 1968, when Warren beat Downey High School with a score of 47-0. The overall record of who has won the games since 1958 puts Warren in the lead, with 37 wins, and Downey High School with 29. However, over he last twenty years or so, there has been more documentation of the events that take place during this spirit-filled week. Despite Warren having more overall wins than us, our school is ranked higher because our football team is in Division 2, while Warren is only in Division 7. 2010 marked the beginning of Downey high school’s five year and longest winning streak, with one of our most notable victories in 2013 where the Downey Vikings defeated the Warren Bears with a crushing score of 60-0, and a game attracting over 8,500 people. The sheer number of people in this crowd proves that, even if there is little recorded evidence of the magnitude of these games, they have been a staple of the city’s pride and spirit for decades.
Downey vs. Warren at LA Galaxy Stadium 2025
November 3, 2025
About the Contributor
Rahma Abu Zeid, Writer
As Rahma Abu enters her first year on The Downey Legend as a sophomore writer, she is motivated to make the most of her high school career. She sets high goals for herself in the present and future, such as graduating with a 4.0 GPA, writing her autobiography, and one day move to New York. Rahma challenges herself academically through AVID, taking AP European History and Honors English. Always actively trying to grow as a student and a writer. She is known for being outgoing and straightforward, she values honesty. After graduating high school, she has her sights set on attending USC or Columbia, where she would like to pursue forensic psychology or law. For Rahma, writing is more than just a way of telling stories; it’s a way to process her emotions.
“Whenever I can’t express myself, I sit down and write what I feel,” Abu said, “It just comes naturally to me.”