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 Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser and the Timu Foundation.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
They say it’s better late than never, and that’s how Millikan came to play at Jordan on Friday night.
Coming off a disappointing loss to Wilson last week, Millikan continued to sputter on both sides of the ball in the first half and went into the break trailing Jordan by three points.
But Millikan found life coming out of the break, holding Jordan to net negative yardage while scoring 42 unanswered points. The Rams dominated the final two quarters en route to a 49-10 win.
“It was a good win but we can’t start like that,” said Millikan coach Romeo Pellum after the game. “We have to start better and we can’t play down our competition. We’re so talented and we have a really good quarterback, we can’t come out flat. We have to keep the standard no matter who we’re playing.”
After only throwing for 30 yards in the first half, freshman quarterback Jonah Tuaniga went 7-of-11 in the second half for 226 yards and five total touchdowns. Tuaniga finished with 274 yards of total offense, throwing three TD passes while scoring an additional two through the ground.
“I think we just had to change our mentality,” Tuaniga said of the slow start. “We just took it too easy in the first half which we shouldn’t have. In the second half we came out a lot stronger. The locker room talk was a lot more intense and that’s where it started.”
On defense, the Rams gave up 157 yards through the ground in the first half before holding the Jordan offense to net negative yardage and only 6 rushing yards in the second. 6-foot-2, 225-pound defensive end Peyton McCutcheon was a big part of Millikan’s turnaround in the second half with a handful of tackles for loss.
“We had to get our stuff together,” McCutcheon said. “We had to reflect at half time and buy in with all 11 guys ready to play. We knew what we could do but we were all in our own way and it came together when the leaders of our defense started to play like they’re supposed to.”
Jordan opened the first half with a promising six play drive while leaning on running back Marcus Williams. Williams touched the ball three times on the drive, including a 37-yard touchdown rush to give Jordan a 7-0 lead. Marcus finished the game with 141 total yards and the score.
Millikan responded with a nine-play drive with five carries from sophomore running back Ryan Carter. Tuaniga capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown plunge, before a 38-yard field goal before half by Jordan’s Luis Alvez. Jordan led 10-7 at the break.
“That it’s possible,” said Jordan coach Alfred Rowe of what he learned from the first half. “It’s a part of the building. We have to learn how to put together a complete game now. We’re just growing and the growing pains are hurting right now. We’re getting to win and get in territory now so we have to get the little things right and pull things together against Lakewood next week.”
After forcing a punt on their opening defensive drive, the Rams struck quickly in the second half on a 92-yard catch and run from Tuaniga to Josiah Carter. Millikan then recovered its own onside kick, before finding another touchdown from Tuaniga to Jay Williams.
Following a Jordan three-and-out, Millikan got the ball back and scored on a four play drive ending in a 20-yard touchdown rush from Landon Ross. The Rams recovered yet another onside kick before driving 30 yards down the field. McCutcheon took the handoff to finish the drive with a one-yard touchdown.
The Rams would score twice more including a screen pass from Tuaniga to Ross for a 35-yard touchdown. Millikan went on a nine-play final drive to cap off the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown rush from Tuaniga.
Jordan will continue league play at home against Lakewood while Millikan will look ahead to a highly anticipated matchup against Long Beach Poly at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
