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.
Millikan’s matchup against Loyola on Friday night was a tale of two halves—one that was back-and-forth between two evenly matched teams, and another that left plenty of questions for the Millikan football team.
The Rams put together a promising drive to open Friday’s game and eventually went into halftime knotted up with Loyola after the two defenses traded blows before the break. Millikan then sputtered in the second half, falling to Loyola 28-7 in a game plagued by penalties and a sluggish finish.
“We got stagnant,” Millikan coach Romeo Pellum said after the game. “Defensively, they made some changes, and it just didn’t go our way. It was a bright spot going into the half tied, and we thought we had a chance coming out in the second. They did a good job controlling the clock, and I have to figure out a way to finish games where we’re close at halftime like these last two weeks.”
Millikan couldn’t have scripted a better opening possession after Loyola won the coin toss and deferred, as the Rams established a strong run game while chewing up the clock on a six-minute, 15-play drive led by running back Ryan Carter. Carter touched the ball on nine of the 15 plays, racking up 61 total yards on the drive before punching in a four-yard touchdown to give Millikan an early lead.
The Cubs then responded in a similar manner, looking to a trio of running backs led by senior Matthew Fine as Loyola toted the ball six times on a five-minute, nine-play drive. Fine capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown plunge to tie the game at 7-7 at the start of the second quarter.
Surprisingly, both teams went quiet for the rest of the half after the long opening drives, as each side punted twice before Millikan eventually kneeled out the clock with under 30 seconds to play. Both defenses tightened up, as Millikan’s Jesse and Andrew Laumasima found themselves in the backfield on multiple occasions to help keep Loyola scoreless for the rest of the half.
Loyola eventually found its rhythm again on offense after receiving the second-half kickoff. The Cubs got back to the ground game while taking time off the clock, going on a six-minute, 11-play drive capped by a touchdown connection from J-C Rising to Sam Friend. The pair connected on a deep ball down the right side of the field to give Loyola a 14-7 lead.
After three combined punts, the Cubs added another touchdown on a long run just a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Rising connected with Friend and Cash Feilke on the drive before Fine found a seam and took a carry 56 yards for the touchdown to double Loyola’s lead.
Millikan had its best chance to find another score in the fourth quarter after a big 47-yard pickup on a pass from quarterback Jonah Tuaniga to Aden Taufa. An offensive holding penalty then wiped out an 18-yard touchdown pass from Tuaniga to Gabriel Reichard before Tuaniga was sacked on fourth-and-long to end the drive.
Loyola, on the other hand, finished the night with another touchdown drive after a handful of carries from junior Jayden Rogers moved the Cubs into the red zone with less than five minutes left in the game. Fine then punched in a 12-yard touchdown, finishing the game with 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
After the big opening drive for Millikan, Carter was held to just 19 total yards for the rest of the game and finished with a team-high 80 yards. Tuaniga went 9/15 for 109 yards passing yards.
“At the end of the day, we lost by 21 points in a game that was 7-7 at half time. They put up 21 points in the second half and we didn’t put up anything, right? When we get the ball close to the endzone we have to score. That’s the difference,” Pellum said. “When you add the penalties, we can’t play behind the sticks. We have to be able to finish these drives and these plays.”
