The562’s football coverage for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
Millikan controlled its own destiny on Friday night, and that meant a business trip to Wilson with the Moore League’s second automatic playoff spot on the line. The Rams showed up just on time and showed out in all facets of the game, shutting out the Bruins in a dominant 42-0 win to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
“Who runs Long Beach? It ain’t the coach here,” Pellum said after the game, referencing comments made by Wilson coach Raudric Curtis ahead of this season. “You can’t say you run somewhere when you win one game. We ain’t far off, but you don’t write checks you can’t cash.”
Millikan treated pregame and postgame like the meter was running, arriving on its team buses less than 10 minutes before kickoff. The Rams stepped off the buses in full gear and onto the field with just five minutes to spare, later rushing off the field following the shutout win to close out their regular season.
“We came here for business,” Pellum said. “We came in, played the game, and left. This is what we said we were going to do and we did it.”
“I had full confidence in this team today,” he added. “This was one of the best team wins that we’ve had all year, and I believe in these guys. We know we can dominate that team, and we went out there and did it.”
The Rams fed the ball to junior running back Ryan Carter, who carried it 20 times for 142 yards and a touchdown while adding one catch for 36 yards and another score. Sophomore quarterback Jonah Tuaniga went 16-for-22 for 268 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Aden Taufa led all receivers with seven catches for 86 yards and two scores.
Millikan’s defense allowed just 161 total yards against a Wilson offense playing without receiver Kyle Harris, holding the Bruins’ two quarterbacks to a combined 8-for-21 passing for 70 yards and an interception. The Rams were anchored by defensive lineman Aaden Muasau’s three sacks, while Soren Jensen added a pair of sacks.
“It’s just the guys that are around us,” Muasau said of the defense’s performance. “It’s Jesse [Laumasima], [Andrew Laumasima], [Toloai Toloai], and the whole entire defense. I feel like we’re a great unit—we play well together and we have a great bond.”
Wilson received the opening kickoff, which Millikan kicked onside, before picking up a pair of first downs on its opening drive with sophomore quarterback Jacob Powell making the start. Millikan then recorded back-to-back sacks from Muasau and Jensen in its own territory to force a punt before taking over at its own 20 after a touchback.
From there, Millikan went with a balanced attack, leaning on Carter for a pair of third-down conversions while Tuaniga also connected with Taufa and Jay Williams. The Rams then faced third and seven in Wilson territory, where Tuaniga found Carter for a 36-yard touchdown and the game’s opening score.
After forcing a punt, Millikan got right back to work in Wilson territory, with Carter carrying the ball on all four positive plays of the drive. The junior capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown run, giving Millikan a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Millikan forced a punt on every Wilson drive of the first half outside of the Bruins’ final possession, when they kneeled out the clock. Offensively, Millikan had a chance to add more points after a two-minute drill brought the Rams down to the Wilson 12-yard line. Wilson then jumped offside, and Millikan elected to go for it on fourth and four rather than attempt a field goal, ultimately coming up empty-handed.
The Rams then turned the ball over on downs near midfield on their opening drive of the second half before getting the ball back on an interception by Jackson Chen on a fake punt attempt from Wilson. Millikan capitalized on the short field, as Tuaniga hit Williams on a short pass before the senior took it the distance for a 52-yard touchdown. Williams finished with three catches for 95 yards.
After forcing another punt, the Rams got the ball back near midfield, where Tuaniga led a drive with three completions to Aden Taufa. Taufa accounted for 49 receiving yards on that possession alone, capping it off with a 28-yard touchdown reception over the middle of the end zone to give Millikan a 28-0 lead.
Millikan then began feeding running back Karter Vaitagutu on its next drive, where he had three carries for 43 yards, capping the drive off with a 28-yard touchdown rush.
On Wilson’s next drive, Millikan came up with its second turnover of the game on a leaping interception by Kylen Hart on third and long in Millikan territory. The Rams then responded with a drive that started at their own three-yard line and ended with a shovel pass to Taufa as he motioned across the formation, taking it into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.
With the win, Millikan will now await its placement in the CIF Southern Section playoff brackets, which will be released Sunday at 10 a.m. The562 will have live coverage of the bracket release, with additional coverage to follow Sunday afternoon.
