The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
A week after playing a near flawless game on their home field, the Millikan Rams (2-1) got a taste of Murphy’s Law on Friday night against Loyola High (1-1).
The visiting Cubs intercepted Millikan’s first two pass attempts of the night, cashing both in for scores, and controlled the line of scrimmage in a 35-25 win, handing the Rams their first loss of the 2025 season.
“Two interceptions, a blocked punt, missed tackles; everything that could go wrong went wrong,” said Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum after the game. “We had guys out for team disciplinary reasons, but we’ve gotta play ball. (Loyola) came out hot, then our guys were in the second half and they didn’t score. But when you get the ball inside the 10-yard line three times and only come away with three points, you won’t win.”
Loyola got interceptions from Kane Casani and Jayden Rogers on their first two defensive possessions, setting up short TD drives via their running game. The Cubs leaned on their offensive line and running back Xavier Winbley, who had 21 carries for 115 yards and three first-half touchdowns.
When QB CJ Rising snuck in a one-yard sneak, the Cubs took a 14-0 lead midway through the opening frame.
Millikan turned to freshman QB Jonah Tuaniga for their third drive, and he proved to have the hot hand on this night. He led a pair of scoring drives for Millikan, connecting on Jude Nelson for both scores–first from 24 yards out, then from 13 yards away to tie the score early in the second.
However, Loyola was able to turn the tide right back with a 55-yard TD run on a trap play to fullback Holden Smyser. After a three-and-out by Millikan, a blocked punt set the Cubs up with great field position for another short scoring drive.
With momentum on the side of the visitors, Pellum tried to spark his team with an aggressive play call in the second quarter. With his team facing 4th & 3 at their own 40, he kept his offense on the field, but a busted play resulted in a sack of QB Ashton Pannell and resulted in another scoring drive for Loyola, making it a 35-14 game at halftime.
“I felt like they were going to go up three scores, and I felt like we needed to get a spark,” said Pellum of the decision to roll the dice on that fourth down. “Yeah, it was a gamble. But if I can do it over again, I’ll do it the same way.”
Loyola’s average starting field position in the first half was the Millikan 37-yard line, helping them score five first-half touchdowns on their way to victory.
Millikan outgained the Cubs by a healthy margin of 511-230, but the turnovers and the field position proved to be too much to overcome. The Rams won the second half 11-0, but had too much ground to make up.
Missed opportunities were certainly a big part of Millikan’s frustrations, as they had drives stall out deep in Loyola territory on three different occasions. First, the Rams ran out of time in the first half with the ball on the Loyola 3. Then late in the third quarter, the Rams faced 4th & goal at the Loyola 11 and settled for a short field goal. Finally, a lost fumble deep in Loyola territory with 7:25 left took the wind out of Millikan’s comeback hopes.
There were some big nights for Millikan pass catchers on the stat sheet, including Nelson who had 10 grabs for 108 yards and two more TDs. Junior Jay Williams had five grabs for 124 yards and a late TD grab, and senior Landon Ross caught seven balls for 91 yards.
Pannell had a tough night against his former team, but did complete 16/24 passes for 222 yards after his early interceptions. Tonight’s hot hand was Tuaniga, who went 18/27 for 229 yards and three scores. Both players will factor into Millikan’s success this season, and Pellum clearly has two guys capable of helping his team win games.
“We talk all the time, and we want to play both of them,” Pellum said. “Obviously Ashton is Quarterback 1, and last week Ashton was hot, so we left him in. This week, Jonah was hot for a few drives, so I left him in longer. So it’s just off of feel … We’ll take it drive by drive.”
It was a strange game for the Millikan defense, as they did allow a season-high 35 points, but were without three healthy defensive starters for the first half, and still have a number of projected starters out due to injury or awaiting transfer verification. With that, they did hold the Cubs scoreless in the second half and made their offense one-dimensional, allowing only 31 passing yards on nine attempts.
The Rams will look to bounce back from their first loss with a tough road test next Friday night. They’ll make the short trip to Downey to take on the 2-0 Vikings.
