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.
Friday night’s CIF-SS Division 7 playoff opener was much like Millikan’s entire regular season, with plenty of ups and downs—the only difference was that it was win-or-go-home.
The Rams jumped out to a two-touchdown lead before a back-and-forth battle eventually saw them trailing in the fourth quarter, but Millikan found a way to respond when it mattered most. The fourth-quarter rally resulted in a thrilling 28-17 victory over La Cañada to advance to the second round.
“We found a way to win,” Pellum said after the game. “Shoutout to La Cañada, their coaches had a great game plan to slow the game down and we couldn’t figure out how to get off the field and get a stop. We put our guys in position to make a play at the end and they did that—they sealed the game.”
In a game that Millikan led 14-0 shortly before halftime, the Rams eventually found themselves trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Junior running back Ryan Carter then capped off a fourth-quarter drive to regain the lead for Millikan before La Cañada drove downfield in search of a game-winning touchdown.
That drive brought the Spartans to the Millikan 14-yard line, where La Cañada eventually faced fourth-and-4 with less than two minutes remaining, trailing by four. Quarterback Joe Bell dropped back to pass, but his throw was intercepted by defensive lineman Toloai Toloai, who took it the distance for a pick-six to clinch the win.
“I saw the running back swing out, which they had been doing over and over again. I just took my opportunity,” said Toloai, who is now tied for the team lead in interceptions despite playing on the defensive line. “It was a crazy feeling. It’s just the energy with all my teammates and all the love they showed me. I had to pay ’em back with that pick-six.”
Millikan’s offense was anchored by Carter, who carried the ball 18 times for 77 yards and all three of the Rams’ offensive touchdowns. Carter’s first two touchdowns came on Millikan’s opening two drives, each spanning more than nine plays, giving the Rams their 14-0 lead that they held until late in the second quarter.
“I felt like I had to just help us get the momentum going,” Carter said of the quick start. “I wanted to make sure we start the way we’re supposed to start. We couldn’t afford to get off to a slow start.”
Those two touchdowns preceded a momentum shift in the game, as La Cañada was able to score on what looked like its final drive of the half. The Spartans leaned on the legs of quarterback Joe Bell, who carried the ball nine times on that drive alone, eventually punching in a two-yard touchdown to cut the lead in half with under 20 seconds remaining before halftime.
Millikan then fumbled the ball on its final possession of the half, setting La Cañada up at the Rams’ 34-yard line. Bell connected with Logan Miller on a pass play that left just 1.5 seconds on the clock, setting up a 26-yard field goal from Connor Alexander to cut the lead to 14-10 at halftime.
“We had two possessions in the first half and we had two touchdowns,” Pellum said. “We punted the ball once today—so I felt like offensively we could have our way. The problem was getting our offense on the field. They did a good job of sustaining drives with time of possession but we made a play when it mattered.”
La Cañada continued to lean on the legs of Bell in the third quarter to control the time of possession, helping spark a go-ahead drive that included four rushes from the quarterback. His fifth carry came on a 52-yard touchdown run to give the Spartans their first lead, as Bell finished with 25 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Millikan’s go-ahead drive lasted seven plays and just three minutes, as Carter carried the ball five times, capping off the possession with an eight-yard touchdown run. Toloai then came up with the pick-six on the ensuing La Cañada drive to seal the victory.
“We always get out in the playoffs in the first round, or at least every year I’ve been here,” Carter said. “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.”
Sophomore Jonah Tuaniga finished the game 13-for-19 with 127 passing yards, while senior Jay Williams had seven catches for 89 yards.
The Rams will be back on the road next week for a long trip to Barstow in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs.
“We have another week. We had a great week of practice last week and we have to match that this week and do even better,” Pellum said. “There were 16 teams in this bracket and now there’s eight teams, so we’re one of eight. We just have to know that it’s going to get harder and we have to play better. We have an opportunity to play another game, so it’s a 1-0 mentality again.”
