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 Millikan Athletics for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
It was exactly ten weeks ago that Millikan suffered its third straight loss to open the season against Downey, a sign of what was to come for a Rams team that would eventually go winless through its six-game non-league slate.
Perhaps an even worse sign from that game was the injury-riddled stretch Millikan would go on to endure. It was that night that star running back Ryan Carter was tackled to the ground well after the play was whistled dead, leaving him down on the field. The junior had “seizure-like movements” on the field and was later taken away in an ambulance.
Since making a full recovery, Carter has led the Rams in total yards and touchdowns while Millikan has gone 4-1, a stretch that included the Rams’ first playoff win in three years last week at La Cañada. The junior now hopes to lead Millikan to its first quarterfinal win since 1980 tonight as the Rams travel to Barstow.
“We’re putting 10 toes down on everything tonight, and we’re just going to play like we have zero wins,” Carter said. “We’ve been putting in hard work and staying consistent every single day at practice. We’re just going to play alongside one another and keep doing what we’re supposed to do.”
The severity of a head injury in football leaves no room for rushing a recovery, especially one of the magnitude that Carter faced that Friday night. Players at all levels have seen their careers cut short by serious head injuries, with greater caution surrounding those injuries over the last decade than ever before. Carter said he was in and out of consciousness on the field that night but never doubted his football career would continue, even just weeks later.
“My first questions when I opened my eyes in the ambulance was ‘am I going to be able to play football again?’” Carter said. “I was just praying every night, praying to come back, praying that my injury would come back to 100%.”
Whether or not he’s been 100%, Carter has been everything Millikan has needed him to be since making his return. His first game back, for example, came in a barnburner against Lakewood, a 32-28 victory that marked Millikan’s first win of the season. The junior caught the game-winning touchdown in that contest, finishing with 22 carries for 154 yards and three total touchdowns.
“I’ve been playing football my whole life, so the feeling of having my season taken away from me and not knowing if I was going to come back, it broke my heart,” Carter said. “That really hurt me. So when I heard from the doctors that I could come back, I knew I had to just come back and dominate.”
Carter has been Millikan’s latest standout running back since former Moore League Player of the Year Anthony League, whom Millikan coach Romeo Pellum says he sees flashes of in Carter despite being just a junior. Pellum admits that Carter was a bit tentative at first after returning from injury but has since found his groove en route to tonight’s quarterfinal.
“He came back from injury and was hesitant at times, which is understandable,” Pellum said of Carter. “But I had to tell him, look, I thought you were a Power Four player, and right now you’re playing like an FCS player at best. I told him he’s gotta turn that switch back on, and it came on. He’s running with a purpose, and that’s what we need.”
“I just had to prove all the doubts,” Carter added. “Coach Rome told me every time that whatever I do, I gotta dominate.”
Carter is up to 737 rushing yards this season (94 yards per game) with eight rushing touchdowns, adding 157 receiving yards and two more touchdowns through the air. Just last week, Carter scored all three of Millikan’s rushing touchdowns against La Cañada, marking the Rams’ first playoff victory during his high school career.
“We always get out in the playoffs in the first round, or at least every year I’ve been here,” Carter said after that game. “We had to break that curse. It was win-or-go-home, but I wasn’t trying to go home. You have to do what you have to do to win.”
The junior is looking to add to those totals tonight, but more importantly, lead Millikan to its first quarterfinal win since 1980. The Rams will kick off at Barstow tonight at 7 pm.
