The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
Simply put, this Friday was a day the Millikan Football program will want to forget.
Playing their final non-league game of the season, the Rams went on the road and suffered a lopsided 55-7 loss against the Downey Vikings, one that was frustrating throughout on the visiting sideline.
“It’s probably the worst loss I’ve ever had as a coach,” said Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum after the game. “I never want to feel this way again. I’ve got to do a better job of preparing my guys, and we have to do a better job of finishing and that’s on me. I have to be better.”
The Millikan roster did welcome back some key defensive players as DE Peyton McCutcheon and LB Aisa Taeleifi both returned from injury, but starting QB Ashton Pannell was not suited up for the game, opening the door for freshman QB Jonah Tuaniga to get his first career start.
Tuaniga was 19/32 for 218 yards, with his big strike coming in the first quarter as he linked up with Landon Ross for a 74-yard TD to tie up the score 7-7 midway through the first quarter. Ross had a big night with 9 catches for 123 yards and that score.
Unfortunately, he was also intercepted three times by the Vikings defense, with two going to sophomore Kingston Fasavalu and the other to junior Damani Porras.
The bigger problem for the Rams was in slowing down the Downey offense, which scored touchdowns on each of its first eight drives. Senior QB Oscar Rios was a driving force in that success, finishing 15/17 for 261 yards and 3 TD; he also added 71 yards rushing and another touchdown for the Vikings.
His preferred target once again was the junior Porras, who had a terrific night offensively with 9 grabs for 191 yards and a pair of scores.
Downey running back Gavin Ingram had a pair of first-half TDs, including a one-yard plunge to give the hosts a 28-7 lead at halftime.
Millikan was unable to muster too much on offense in the second half, but did get a nice night from senior running back Samson Khan, who had 88 yards from scrimmage.
With the news Friday morning that the Rams were forfeiting their two non-league wins from earlier in the season, they will be entering league play with an 0-4 record. As of Friday night, nine Millikan players had their status changed on the CIF-SS transfer approval website, all being listed as “Under Review.”
The Rams will be on a bye next week, giving them time to reset before they open Moore League play against Cabrillo on Sept. 19.
“We’ve just got to focus on us, the little stuff,” said Pellum on how he’ll approach the bye week. “We’ve got to get in sync, perimeter-wise, and get back to the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. That was just an old-fashioned ass-whooping, that’s what that was. And I stand on it, we’ve just got to get better. I’ve got to be a better coach. I take it, that’s on me.”
