The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The Millikan Rams are hitting the road for their season opener on Friday night, lining up for an exciting showdown with the Newbury Park Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Newbury Park High, a 67-mile drive Northwest from the Millikan campus.
Led by four-star junior QB Brady Smigiel, the Panthers are ranked No. 89 in California according to MaxPreps, ahead of Millikan’s ranking of 142, making this an uphill battle for the Rams on paper.
“It’s a big challenge. He’s probably the best quarterback we’ll play all year, at least in the regular season,” said Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum. “They also have some good skill players too, so it’s definitely a good challenge for us. It’s a game that we’re projected to lose, but it’s always good going in being an underdog.”
Smigiel is listed at 6-foot-5, 205, and is currently committed to Florida State. As a sophomore, he threw for over 4,000 yards and had 52 passing TDs on the year. His dad is the Panthers’ head coach, Joe Smigiel, and one of his top targets on the perimeter is his twin brother, Beau.
But Newbury Park’s talent isn’t just confined to the Smigiel family. Senior wide receiver Shane Rosenthal is another Division I talent, coming off a 1,900-yard season with 21 TDs. Senior Blake Bryce is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end who’s committed to BYU.
The Panthers’ defensive secondary also got a boost this offseason with the transfers of seniors Derrick Walker (from Westlake) and three-star recruit Drew Cofield (St. Bonaventure).
Millikan also has plenty of new talent on the roster, and you never really know what to expect from a team until they line it up for the first time on Friday night.
”We’ve just got to start fast, and play fast and physical,” said Pellum. “Obviously, it’s the first game, so you don’t know what to expect. Everybody is asking how we’re going to do and I just tell them we’re both going to find out together.”
