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.
After a season of ups and downs, the Millikan football team got a breath of fresh air Friday night as they wrapped up their regular season at Compton.
Senior Jude Nelson had 10 catches for 150 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Rams went on the road and defeated Compton, 42-14.
“I think it’s refreshing,” Millikan senior Jude Nelson said. “You know what I mean? I think the guys really earned it. We’ve been working hard. Sometimes it’s not your time. You know what I mean? Every dog has his day is what I like to say. We came out fast. We executed early and that led to our win and we’re gonna go home and celebrate.”
After Compton went for an onside kick, both teams came up empty on their opening drives. Millikan (3-7, 3-3) aired it on their next drive as freshman Jonah Tuaniga connected with Nelson for a 48-yard touchdown as the Rams took a 6-0 lead with 7:20 left in the first quarter.
The Tarbabes (4-5, 2-3) answered right back as Leton Washington led Compton 80 yards completing six passes to four players and found Trevon Fair for a 13-yard touchdown to and Compton took a 7-6 lead with 2:08 left in the first quarter.
Millikan went right back to attacking Compton’s secondary as Tuaniga found Jay Williams for 22 and 17 yards and the Rams scored after Tuaniga connected with Diamond Graham for a 5-yard touchdown to take 14-7 lead.
“I challenge these guys, you know what I mean?,” Millikan coach Romeo Pellum said about what his message to the team was this week. “If you guys want to be that playoff championship team, some stuffs gonna have to change. You know what I mean? And it’s on you guys, like, you guys have to take ownership. We need leadership. Us coaches are gonna get better, but we expect you guys to get better, too. We all have to get better inside of the room – inside our building.”
From that point on Millikan made adjustments to stop Compton’s quick passes and forced a three-and-out to start the second quarter. The Rams went right back to the air and found Nelson for two catches for 30 yards including a 10-yard touchdown to Nelson to extend their lead to 21-7.
On their next drive, Compton started at their own 9-yard-line but after drawing three pass interference calls the Tarbabes were in Millikan territory looking to cut into the lead. However, the Rams’ defense locked in defensively and came up with a blocked field goal.
“Hats off to Millikan,” Compton coach Calvin Bryant said. “They played a strategic game. I felt like we had a great game plan. My coaches did a great job all week. (Millikan) just made the plays.”
The Rams responded after the special teams play as they marched down the field and Tuaniga connected with Nelson for a 5-yard score, his second touchdown of the night as Millikan went up 28-7 at halftime.
After a slow start to the second half, Millikan was the first to strike and it was Tuaniga to Nelson again for a 40-yard score to push the lead to 35-7. Tuaniga finished the night completing 19 of 33 for 304 yards and five touchdowns.
On the next drive, Millikan’s Kylen Hart ended Compton’s next drive and the Rams heading the other way. The Rams went right down the field as Tuaniga found Nelson again for a fifth time as Millikan went up 42-7.
Compton didn’t back down as Washington found Edward Rivera for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 42-14. Rivera finished the game with four catches and 88 yards while Washington had 191 yards passing.
While Millikan’s regular season has come to conclude, Pellum said that the team has put in a bid for an at-large bid and are eager to see the brackets when they are released on Nov. 2. Compton will be on the road to take on Poly next Friday.
