Millikan dominates Lakewood in every facet
LONG BEACH » Junior quarterback JP Mialovski and senior receiver Ryan Pellum were seemingly unstoppable for Millikan's football team in a 43-0 blowout win over rival Lakewood at DeHaven Stadium on Friday night.
Mialovski completed 10 of 18 passes for 173 yards and four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). Pellum, a USC commit, had five receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing).
Millikan improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Moore League, and also retained the rivalry's prized Hamilton Cup.
The Rams quickly lit up the scoreboard. On their first drive, Mialovski found Pellum for an 11yard touchdown pass to put Millikan up 7-0.
“We're getting better every week at practice and every week in the games and it's showing on the field,” Pellum said.
Lakewood (3-5, 2-2) tried answering back on the following drive but Millikan senior defensive back Loyall Mouzon intercepted a pass from sophomore quarterback Kade Casillas and returned it back 52 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead to 14-0.
“We couldn't leave any doubt.
We had to play at a high level and we had to start fast,” said Millikan coach Romeo Pellum, who is also Ryan Pellum's older brother.
It was the first of five interceptions that the Millikan defensive secondary came up with against the Lancers. Senior linebacker Jayden Rapp had two interceptions, while defensive backs sophomore Ethan Enriquez and senior
Ricky Cherry each snagged one.
“Our kids were fired up,” Romeo Pellum said. “Our defense was clicking, we had five interceptions and our offense played well.”
Mialovski and Ryan Pellum continued to shine in the second quarter with three more touchdowns which included a 1-yard run by the junior quarterback and a 51-yard touchdown pass to Pellum. Late in the second, Pellum scored on a 7-yard run to take the Rams into the half with a 35-0 lead.
Mialovski said his team came into the Lakewood game looking to bounce back after their 26-23 overtime loss to Poly on Sept. 29.
“After that sad overtime loss last week, we had to have that mentality to bounce back,” Mialovski said. “We had that mindset this week in practice, and it paid off.”
Junior running back Xavier Jones added a 20-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass in the third quarter, followed by a 2-point conversion to make it 430.
The Rams will play Compton at Compton College on Friday.