The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The most-anticipated high school football game of the year has finally arrived. Millikan welcomes in Long Beach Poly this Friday at DeHaven Stadium for a meeting of the two best football teams in the city. At stake is more than just one win or one loss. At stake is Long Beach history.
The Jackrabbits haven’t lost a Moore League game on the field since 2009, when they were defeated by the Rams in overtime as well as Lakewood. That season was Poly’s first losses in league since 1996–they’ve lost only eight Moore League games in the last 44 years. Last year’s overtime thriller against Millikan was the first time a team came closer than 14 points to Poly in the last decade. In that time the average score in league games has been a 50-4 Poly win.
None of that will matter when the two teams take the field Friday night. According to CalPreps, Poly is a slight favorite 42-38. According to most football observers and fans around the city, the Rams are the favorite thanks to their punishing rushing attack and superior offensive line. Millikan will certainly boast a big home field advantage with their top-notch student section.
For fans looking to get a ticket: none will be sold at the game on Friday, all tickets must be purchased through GoFan’s website: https://gofan.co/event/1733425?schoolId=CA18938.
Millikan comes into the game fresh off a lopsided win over Jordan, 51-6.
“We feel like if we execute, we can do what we need to do at any time against anybody,” Millikan coach Romeo Pellum said. “It’s about us. It’s about us doing things the right way and when we do it the right way, we do a really good job, and when we don’t – we don’t.”
Millikan (5-2) has been led all year by Cal commit Anthony League, a power running back who has been putting up big stats behind the Rams’ line. Quarterback JP Mialovski has made plenty of plays as well, giving Millikan a balanced offensive attack. Millikan’s defense hasn’t been as strong, as they’ve given up 69 points to Downey and a total of 191 points.
Poly (2-4) has won its two Moore League games but dropped all four nonleague contests, all four against highly-ranked opponents. The big question for the Jackrabbits is, has the improvement they’ve shown been enough to keep their streak alive against Millikan? Poly’s offense features a ton of playmaking receivers including Kamarie Smith, Jadyen Coley, and Julius “JuJu” Johnson and QB Deuce Jefferson has been much improved. The big question for the Jackrabbits will be whether or not their defense can slow down a Millikan offense that has scored 323 points this season (to Poly’s 149).
The Jackrabbits are fresh off a lopsided loss to nationally-ranked Mission Viejo at SoFi Stadium last week, 49-14.
“We’ve got to do a lot better,” said Poly coach Stephen Barbee. “We came up short in the red zone, and on the defensive end and on special teams. Hats off to Mission Viejo—they’ve got a heck of a program and they came to play. I’m happy in our guys’ continued growth, but we’ve got to do better all around.”
The562 will have live coverage all night of the big game between the Rams and Jackrabbits on our social media platforms.
