The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2023-24 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
A golden era for Millikan Football remains alive and well in East Long Beach. The Rams got about as close as you can get to a Moore League title last season, and despite the loss of a loaded senior class–including All-American Ryan Pellum–there’s no reason to assume that Millikan won’t be right back in the title hunt once again.
This is not familiar territory for the program, but expectations have shifted in recent years at DeHaven Stadium. For context, over the past seven seasons the Rams have won 29 Moore League football games. In the seven seasons prior? Only seven.
For the last five years, it’s been head coach Romeo Pellum leading the way. He took over a program that was in Division 7, and once the CIF playoffs returned after the pandemic, the Rams have been placed in Division 6, then Division 4, and most recently Division 3.
The 2024 campaign brings new faces, with Romeo’s younger brother Ryan–a stalwart of the program in his high school career–now playing at Oregon.
“I coached them for so long, and now I’m coaching different kids, but it’s still coaching ball,” Romeo said. “I have two years to do some damage and then my son will get here. It’s similar to how it was before, I had one year before Ryan and now I’ve got two years before Malachi. Similar situation, we’re just in a different place program-wise.”
That’s an understatement to be sure, as the Rams have sent a player to Power Four programs in each of the last four seasons–an unprecedented run at the school. But as Millikan has gotten better every year, so has their playoff competition.
The Rams were a few plays away from dethroning Long Beach Poly as league champs in a 26-23 overtime loss last season, before dropping another heartbreaker in the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs. Millikan went to halftime tied in both of those games, and will hope to make some key adjustments in crunch time to turn those close losses into what would be monumental wins.
“Obviously you look at it and you wish you did things differently, I’m sure everyone does that,” Pellum admitted. “I’m not gonna take anything away from anybody, but again, it’s always about us, and there’s things that we could have done differently to change the outcome for us. So we know that moving forward and we’ve gotta make sure we change those things, and hopefully it goes a different way.”
One area of improvement for this year’s team is on the offensive line, where Millikan historians are saying its the biggest and best offensive line the Rams have ever had. The size is certainly there, with 6-foot-6, 330-pound Maki Stewart anchoring things at left tackle. The Arizona State commit is one of three newcomers who’ve helped fortify the line, which has seniors across the board.
One of those seniors is four-year starter Jessie Wishon at right guard. He’s been part of Millikan’s rise as a program and is excited about their squad in 2024. Plus, if he’s in the lineup all season he has the chance to have the most starts in Millikan Football history, according to his head coach.
“I think this team is going to have a lot of success this year. We’re a lot more disciplined than last year, and I can see that our guys are wanting to win,” said Wishon. “We’re looking so confident, we’re looking to get at least 2,500 rushing yards this year, and over 3,000 passing. That’s our goal.”
With senior quarterback JP Mialovski back running the show, the Rams should continue to light up the scoreboard. Mialovski racked up over 2,700 passing yards and 30 TDs last season, and while he’ll have a bunch of new targets to throw to, he’s thrilled to have a solid o-line in front of him.
Millikan also boasts a great 1-2 tandem in the backfield, with returning speedster Xavier Jones along with Cal commit Anthony League, who joined the Rams from Los Al after last season. The Rams may be more effective in short yardage situations this time around, but there won’t be a paradigm shift in the play calling.
“Don’t get it mistaken, we’re always gonna be a program that throws the ball, that’s why we attract so many skill players and quarterbacks,” Pellum explained. “But I do think we’ll be able to help the pass by running the ball a little more, which we weren’t able to in the past. Last year was our first time having a true running back in X, this year we have two true running backs–like thunder and lightning. It’s exciting to see.”
The Rams have been spoiled with some top-end wide receiver talent lately, including Pellum for the past four years. But while this group of wideouts may not currently have as many stars next to their names, there is some great size and depth at the position. Jude Nelson is the top returner and one of two 6-foot-4 targets on the outside, along with promising sophomore Jay Williams.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Rams took a huge step forward in 2023, but now they’ll need to replace almost all of their starting 11 under defensive coordinator David Krumins. The good news is, Pellum’s staff has remained the same from last season, giving the Rams valuable cohesiveness as they work new players into the rotation.
“I think the coaching is better on that side. This is the DK’s third year calling the defense and our position coaches have done a really good job,” said Pellum. “Quiet as kept, I think our defense is better this year than it was last year personnel-wise. And that says a lot, because our defense was pretty good, but I think this defense is damn good.”
The Rams will have impact transfers at every level, mixed in with returning talent. Up front, Lealiki Lotulelei adds great size and physicality alongside returning DT Terrell Dolberry.
Sirr Bible leads a new linebacking corps that has big shoes to fill from last year. Bible is a San Jose State commit, set to join up with two of Millikan’s defensive standouts from 2023, Matt Robinson and Greg McClendon.
Incoming transfers Joshua Tuchek and Malik Stacy will be senior playmakers in the secondary, joining returner EJ Enriquez who turned heads as a sophomore last season. Enriquez said it should be fun playing with the new guys, and he appreciates having the continuity with the coaching staff.
“I’m really excited defensively. I think we have a lot of playmakers, and I think we’re gonna have fun too,” said Enriquez with a big grin. “The coaches give us the freedom to play our own style, but you’ve got to fit within the team. So it’s like a puzzle piece. Once it fits perfectly, it’s like a perfect image.”
Pellum is also super high on freshman Odell Simms, Jr., who will get to wear number 0 as a ninth grader and should be a consistent starter at cornerback.
Millikan has some nice local clashes on the schedule as they host Carson and Downey in the non-league schedule, and they’ll also take road trips to Upland and to Newbury Park in the season opener.
Fans will certainly be excited about the rematch with Poly on Oct. 11, only this time the backdrop will include the ever-growing “Millikan Mob” causing mayhem in the stands.
Success is now the expectation for the Millikan football program, and while the Rams haven’t reached their goals quite yet, they’re as good as they’ve been in a long time and are itching for another shot at the top.
“The first year here we went 3-7. Wilson beat us, Lakewood beat us, Compton beat us. It was tough,” Pellum recalled. “Now the expectation is to win every game, no matter who we’re playing. When you look at it, our lower levels were real close to winning league last year too. And it just speaks to where we are as a program, and the direction that we’re going.”
Projected Starters:
Offense
QB: JP Mialovski (Sr.)
RB: Anthony League (Sr.) / Xavier Jones (Sr.)
OL: Maki Stewart (Sr.) / Branden Meza (Sr.) / Kapono Mao (Sr.) / Jessie Wishon (Sr.) / Kade Hegadus (Sr.)
WR: Jude Nelson (Jr.) / Landon Ross (Jr.) / Jay Williams (So.) / Daylin Caamano (Sr.) / Ethan Naudin (Sr.) / Kato Keohaname (Sr.)
Defense
DL: Obed Dubon (Sr.) / Terrell Dolberry (Sr.) / Malik Jacques (Sr.) / Peyton McCutcheon (Jr.) / Lealiki Lotulelei (Sr.)
LB: Sirr Bible (Sr.) / Aisa Taeleifi (Jr.) / Damian Paz (Jr.)
Nickel: Jordan Birks (Sr.) / Dillon Nelson (Sr.)
DB: EJ Enriquez (Jr.) / Joshua Tuchek (Sr.) / Odell Simms, Jr. (Fr.) / Malik Stacy (Sr.) / Josh Miyaki
2024 Millikan Rams Schedule:
8/23 – at Newbury Park
8/29 – vs. Carson (Thursday)
9/6 – vs. Downey
9/13 – at Upland
9/20 – at Cabrillo
9/27 – at Wilson
10/4 – vs. Jordan
10/11 – vs. Long Beach Poly
10/18 – at Lakewood
10/25 – vs. Compton
