The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
Fans of offense should have had this game circled on their calendars.
Last year’s meeting between Millikan and Downey ranked 13th in California history for points scored in a game, as the Vikings emerged with a 69-68 victory thanks to a touchdown with 14 seconds left.
While the rematch is unlikely to reach those gaudy numbers, there’s reason to expect plenty of scoring when the teams kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Downey High.
Millikan is averaging over 33 points per game this season, and have a deep and talented receiving corps all with game-breaking ability. Add in a rotation of two highly capable quarterbacks–led by senior Ashton Pannell–and the Rams will certainly be capable of lighting up the scoreboard.
Downey, meanwhile, has a four-star senior QB in Oscar Rios, who was the signal caller for the Vikings in their offensive explosion last year at DeHaven Stadium. The Arizona commit has thrown for 567 yards and 4 TDs so far in 2025, leading his team to a 2-0 start with wins over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (24-21) and Orange Vista (35-34).
As those scores indicate, the Vikings have played some close games already this season, and are battle tested coming into their home opener.
Rios is also a major threat on the ground, rushing 14 times for 133 yards already this year. Running back Gavin Ingram has 29 carries for 189 yards and two scores, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Returning wideout Damani Porras is Rios’ preferred target on the outside, and the junior has 11 catches for 209 yards and three TDs through the first two games of the season. He also has two interceptions on defense for the Vikings.
In last year’s meeting, Millikan was without a number of defensive starters, and that could be the case again in 2025. The Rams have a couple defensive backs awaiting CIF transfer clearance, and have had injuries to defensive stars Peyton McCutcheon and Aisa Taeleifi. Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum said he hopes both players will be able to go on Friday night.
During last week’s loss to Loyola, three more players missed the first half for disciplinary reasons, and the Rams allowed 35 points in those 24 minutes. After halftime, Millikan held the Cubs scoreless.
“We just want to go take care of what we need to take care of, start fast, be a physical football team and be a disciplined football team,” said Pellum of what he wants to see improve from last week’s performance. “I think we had a better week of practice this week compared to last week. Going into last week, I know we had a s—y week of practice, so I knew anything could happen. This week, we had a better Monday and Tuesday so let’s hope we finish well.”
Millikan’s ability to slow down the Vikings could come down to who’s available and on the field, but either way there will be quality reps to be had against one of the top programs in the area. The Vikings were in the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs in 2024 and have averaged over 9 wins per season over the past four years under longtime head coach Jack Williams.
