The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
After a two-hour drive up to Newbury Park, the Millikan Rams knew they were in for a tough challenge to open the 2024 high school football season.
Once the teams hit the field, the drives were much quicker, and usually ended with points for the host Panthers in a 52-15 victory over the visitors from Long Beach.
“We’ve got to throw it all away and start over tomorrow,” said Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum after the loss. “We’ve got to start all the way over.”
Newbury Park was led by junior quarterback Brady Smigiel, who was 21/35 for 257 yards and 4 TDs through the air, while adding 60 rushing yards on nine carries and two more scores. The Florida State commit racked up over 50 passing TDs as a sophomore, and is well on his way to another solid season for the Panthers thanks to his six total TDs in the opener.
While it was a forgettable night at the office for Millikan, there was a bright spot in the running game. Led by the senior duo of Anthony League and Xavier Jones, the Rams ran it 36 times for 236 yards on Friday night, averaging over 6.5 yards per carry.
League racked up 105 yards on 17 carries while Jones went for 92 on just nine rushes. Jones also had the biggest play of the night for Millikan, breaking off a 46-yard TD scamper on the Rams’ second drive to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.
But as they did all night, Smigiel and the Panthers answered back right away, driving down the field for a prompt go-ahead score on a four-yard TD pass to BYU commit Blake Bryce.
Newbury Park scored 24 unanswered points to end the first half, including a 28-yard pick six by senior Shane Rosenthal. That came on the play immediately following a costly block in the back penalty on the Rams, which negated a successful 3rd & 9 conversion.
Penalties were costly for Millikan in their season opener, as they were assessed 10 penalties for 134 yards, with every penalty going for 10 yards or more. The Panthers were flagged five times for 36 yards.
Millikan came out of halftime with some fire, and went on an impressive 10-play, 80-yard drive for their second TD of the night. League had 82 yards from scrimmage on that drive, which culminated in a one-yard TD plunge by JP Mialovski, who struggled in the passing game but did run for 38 yards and a score. A two-point conversion by Jones cut the deficit to two possessions at 31-15, but that’s as close as the Rams would get.
Again, Newbury Park was unfazed and immediately answered with a score as Smigiel ran in his second nine-yard TD of the game. The junior added TD tosses to Rosenthal and Alberto Ayon, who had a massive game with 11 catches for 171 yards and a TD, plus an interception on defense.
Millikan will look to regroup with a short week as they look toward their home opener next Thursday night against Carson.
“I’m not even thinking about Carson, I’m thinking about us and how we can be better,” Pellum said. “Because we’re far away. Everybody wanted to know how we were going to be, well, that’s how we are right now, and it’s my job to get it better.”
