The562’s football coverage for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
DeHaven Stadium was not the place to be on Friday night for a competitive football game — but it was the place to see history made by Millikan’s freshman quarterback Jonah Tuaniga.
Making just the second start of his young career, Tuaniga stepped on the field in Millikan’s Moore League opener against Cabrillo and went 20-for-24 (83% completion) for 508 yards and a preposterous nine passing touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 63-0 win.
Tuaniga’s nine touchdowns in a game set a new state record for a freshman, also breaking the Moore League record previously set at seven. Seven of Tuaniga’s nine touchdowns came in the first half, leaving him tied for 4th all-time in the state for most touchdowns both in a half and in a game. All stats are via CalHi Sports.
“I mean, first of all, I’m just very blessed,” Tuaniga said humbly after the game. “I’m just grateful to have this opportunity to show off what I can do. I felt pretty good and I’m just overall blessed.”
Senior Jude Nelson was on the other end of a pair of Tuaniga touchdown passes and led the Rams with nine catches for 184 yards. Landon Ross had two receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while Jay Williams had four catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Samson Khan had three grabs out of the backfield for 51 yards and a pair of scores. Diamond Graham Jr also added a touchdown grab with 46 yards.
“With [Tuaniga] and our receivers I think we have one of the best groups around,” said Millikan coach Romeo Pellum after the game. “We have a 6’5 receiver, a 6’4 tight end, an elusive guy like Landon, and we have Diamond who does everything. It’s a special group that’s hard to defend in the pass game and that showed today.”
Tuaniga started the game 3-for-3 with 155 yards and three touchdowns. His first pass went to Ross, who took a bubble screen the distance for a 54-yard strike. Graham followed that up with a 46-yard touchdown catch down the middle, before a deep-ball pass to Nelson for Tuaniga’s third score.
Samson Khan made a couple of big plays on the Rams’ next two drives, including a 18-yard touchdown catch on a wheel route in the right side of the endzone. Khan then cut back multiple times on a 22-yard screen pass for his second of the night.
Tuaniga found two more touchdowns before the half, a 70-yard shovel pass to Ross and a 22-yard strike over the middle to Nelson. Tuaniga went into the half with seven total touchdowns, having already broken the school record previously held by Myles Jackson, who had six touchdowns on four different occasions.
“He’s elite, man,” Pellum said of Tuaniga. “I tell people all the time that he’ll be a top five quarterback in the country. To see what he does as a freshman and how he processes things, he’s getting more and more comfortable. It’s good to have these games in league because he’s able to build confidence.”
Tuaniga’s final two touchdowns came with a running clock in the second half, both to 6-foot-5 receiver Jay Williams. Williams took a short pass in from 16 yards out before scoring on a flip-pass for his second of the night.
Defensively, the Rams came up with three turnovers including a fumble recovery by Michael Palmer deep in Millikan territory. EJ Enriquez and Jacob Sims each had interceptions, while the Millikan D-Line came up with 7 total sacks.
Cabrillo had a couple of nice passes from quarterback Fernando Leanos to Zyaire Hughes, including a pass that set up first-and-goal. The Jags’ defense also had a highlight play in the fourth quarter thanks to an interception made by freshman Armon Lumpkin.
Millikan will be back at home for more Moore League action next week against Wilson, while Cabrillo will host Compton.
