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 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
After taking one to the chin against Huntington Beach to open the season, the Millikan football team will travel to Los Angeles to face Loyola on Friday in a battle between two teams looking to bounce back from season-opening losses. The two teams will kick off at 7 pm.
The good news for Millikan coming out of the loss is that the Rams are unlikely to face a better player, let alone quarterback, than the one they went head-to-head with last week. It served as a true test for Millikan’s defense, as Ohio State commit Brady Edmunds threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns.
Millikan did a good job of setting the tone defensively against Huntington Beach but failed to stay composed after allowing the Oilers to build momentum with a couple of big plays. Players like Matteo Palma helped keep the Rams in the game coming out of halftime, including an interception deep in Oilers territory.
The Rams’ defense will look to rebound against a Loyola offense that also struggled in its opening week, falling 31-6 to Crean Lutheran. The Cubs’ lone touchdown came on a pass from quarterback J-C Rising to senior receiver Tobias Thuss, who was the team’s top target of the night. Matthew Fine led Loyola on the ground with 42 rushing yards.
Offensively, Millikan will counter with sophomore quarterback Jonah Tuaniga, who finished with 138 passing yards against Huntington Beach, while top target Jay Williams had six catches for 80 yards to lead the Rams but also lost a fumble. The Rams will also look to their solid run game, led by junior Ryan Carter, who totaled 107 yards in the opener.
Last year, the two teams squared off in what ended as a 35-25 Loyola win at DeHaven Stadium. The Cubs went on to finish the season 6-7 (1-4) and picked up two wins in the CIF-SS Division 5 bracket, while Millikan fell in the first round of the same division against Aliso Niguel.
