Cub Football - Another top notch foe on tap this week, the Millikan Rams
AFTER CATHEDRAL SETBACK THE SLEDDING GETS NO EASIER FOR THE CUBS AS THEY TRAVEL TO L.B. MILLIKAN ON FRIDAY
Loyola will travel to Long Beach this Friday to take on L.B. Millikan (2-0), which rolled over highly ranked Newbury Park and its Michigan-bound quarterback Brady Smigiel last Friday at DeHaven Stadium in Long Beach.
The Cubs (0-1) did not have an auspicious debut in their opener as they were defeated convincingly by Cathedral, 36-14, at Smith Field last Friday. They have their work cut out for them once again.
Millikan (2-0) possesses many of the same elements as Cathedral, including an abundance of team speed and a prolific passing attack. Two turnovers (a punt block and an interception) played a role in Loyola‘s loss to the Phantoms, but the Cubs still did not match up well with Cathedral’s fast athletes. Loyola will need a nearly flawless performance on Friday to upset the favored Rams.
A LOOK AT THE MILLIKAN RAMS
Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum is in his seventh season as the head man in charge of the Rams, and has seen his program steadily improve.
After defeating L.B. Poly en route to securing its first Moore League title in many years last fall, Pellum believes he might have his best team yet, and for good reason.
Last Friday Millikan blew out the highly ranked Newbury Park Panthers, 49-20, after downing Foothill of Henderson, Nevada, 27-14 in the Silver State the previous week.
Against Newbury Park, senior quarterback Ashton Pannell, a transfer from Loyola, showed why he is being recruited by FBS schools as he threw for 333 yards, completing nine of just eleven passes (88%), four of which were touchdown tosses. He accounted for a fifth TD on a seven-yard keeper. Pannell’s nine pass completions averaged an incredible 37 yards. In two games he has thrown for 581 yards.
The Rams have a slew of fast, sure handed pass catchers. Landon Ross caught four aerials for 142 yards against Newbury Park. Colorado State tight end commit Jude Nelson (6-4, 220) is strong and tough. He had four receptions for 95 yards.
Sophomore running back Ryan Carter is an elite ball carrier. Against the Panthers he gained 198 yards in just 11 carries (18 ypc).
Millikan scored four touchdowns and gained 283 yards on its first eight plays against Newbury Park. In a word, that stat line is ridiculous. As 562.org wrote in its game story “ . . . their perfect start lent itself to a nearly flawless performance.” Indeed.
The visiting Panthers rolled up a staggering 508 yards of total offense against the Rams, thus making their final point total incongruous, but Newbury Park could not convert the big yardage it gained into TDs. Millikan back Jairius Laumasima had two interceptions against the Panthers.
GAME OUTLOOK
Millikan features a big play offense, and the Cub ‘Wolfpack’ defense fell prey to sizable chunk plays against Cathedral, which does not bode well for slowing down the Rams’ high octane offensive attack.
Loyola will have to consistently pressure Pannell and slow down speedy running back Ryan Carter to have any success defensively.
The Rams’ defense has relinquished yardage by the bushel load, but appears to be of the bend, but don’t break variety. The Cubs will need to score more than the 14 points they put on the board last Friday. Loyola must run the ball successfully to pull off an upset victory.
The Cubs’ special teams had a rough night against Cathedral with a blocked punt and missed field goal. They need to perform better against the Rams.
If Loyola improves significantly from its performance against Cathedral, it will have a shot at toppling the L.A. Times’ new number 23-ranked team, but it will take a nearly flawless effort.
THE MILLIKAN -LOYOLA SERIES
The Rams played the Cubs only once before. Loyola defeated Millikan, 14-0, in the first round of the 1997 CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. The Del Rey League champion Cubs, one of Loyola’s all-time best teams, finished the season 12-1 after a close loss to L.B. Poly I in the CIF Div. I semifinals.
SUPPORT LOYOLA’S FOOTBALL PLAYERS BY JOINING THE LOYOLA GRIDIRON VANGUARD
By joining the Loyola Gridiron Vanguard your donations will help support Cub football players at every level. The program needs support for a variety of items that are not covered by the athletic budget. Please see the link below:
Loyola Gridiron Vanguard - Join Today! - Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Loyola Gridiron Vanguard is committed to continuing the tradition of Loyola High School through fraternal support of both the school and the football program. For more than a century, the football program of Loyola High School has set a standard – a standard of excellence that transcends mere athletic accomplishment, that embodies academic commitment as […]
CUB FOOTBALL ALUMNI NEWS
ANTHONY BARR ‘10, one of the all-time great football players in Loyola High School football history, recently announced his retirement from the NFL after a brilliant 10-season professional career as a 6-5, 250 lb. linebacker who was named All-Pro four times while playing for the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-2021 and in 2023, and the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.
An All-Serra League junior running back for the Cubs in 2008 after gaining 1,890 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns, BARR was a preseason All-American going into his senior season, but he broke his ankle early in the 2009 campaign. That setback did not prevent the phenomenal athlete (21.96 200m sprinter) from being recruited by dozens of the best collegiate football programs in the United States.
BARR accepted a scholarship offer from UCLA, where he was a consensus All-American as a senior linebacker and won the Lott Trophy as the best defensive player in the nation. He was the ninth player selected in the 2009 NFL Draft.
BARR holds a prominent place in the pantheon of Loyola gridiron greats.
CEYAIR WRIGHT NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN AT NEBRASKA
Former Loyola All-American, State Defensive Back of the Year and All-CIF corner CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, was recently voted by his teammates at the University of Nebraska as a team captain at the University of Nebraska.
LOYOLA GRAD TO START AT CENTER FOR UCLA
Former Loyola All-CIF center SAM YOON ‘22 has earned the starting spot at center for the UCLA Bruins who open their season this Saturday at the Rose Bowl. YOON has been named UCLA’s football Scholar Athlete of the Year as a mechanical engineering major.
FORMER LOYOLA LINEMAN COLEMAN SHELTON TO START FOR THE RAMS
Former All-Serra League offensive tackle COLEMAN SHELTON ‘13, is in his ninth season in the NFL after a distinguished All-Pac 10 career at the University of Washington.
A starter for the Los Angeles Rams at center in Super Bowl LVI in 2022, SHELTON is back with Los Angeles as the Rams’ starting center after starting at center for the Chicago Bears last season.
CUB GRADS SERVE THE NATION
TIM ROGUS ‘16, the starting center on Loyola’s best team since 2005, the 2015 squad that finished the campaign ranked 17th in the state by CalHi Sports, continued his academic and football careers at one of the nation’s most prestigious schools of higher learning, the University of Chicago.
ROGUS earned his degree in economics, and embarked on a business caree until the call to service beckoned. ROGUS decided to attended Officer’s Training School in the United States Navy. He served in submarine duty on the USS Alexandria, a fast attack submarine, for several years before recently moving to NSW Group 8 shore duty in support of Navy SEALs in Virginia.
ROGUS’s All-Mission League two-way line teammate NOAH UTLEY ‘16 attended Army West Point where he played football with distinction for the Black Knights.
Captain UTLEY now serves as an Army artillery officer stationed in Colorado Springs.
Salute to the Cubs’ for their service.
CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Below is the list of Loyola graduates on college football rosters in 2025 according to published collegiate rosters:
JAKE ARELLANO '24, DB, Bentley University
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB, Bentley University
BROCK BOJORQUEZ ‘25, DB, Johns Hopkins
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL, Bowdoin
KHALIL CUEVA ‘24, WR, University of San Diego
JEFFREY JOHNSON ‘21, TE, Cal
LUKE HARRISON ‘24, OL, University of San Diego
CONNOR KLEIN ‘25, LB, Williams
SHAWN LIN '22, DL, Columbia
LEIGHTON LINE ‘23, DL, Cal Lutheran
JOSHUA LONG ‘21, TE, Eastern Michigan
TAHJ OWENS '22, DB, Princeton
JACK PARIS '23, DL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RYAN QUINTANAR '20, LB, USC
ISAIAH SANDERS, ‘24, LB, UC Davis
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB, Columbia
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB, Idaho
HENRY STICKLER ‘22, WR, SMU
JACK SUSNJAR ‘23, OL, USC
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB, Texas
SCOTT TAYLOR '25, LB, UCLA
RYAN TURK ‘24, OL, Dartmouth
CHAMP WESTBROOKS ‘24, OL, Arizona State
ALEX WHITMAN ‘22, WR, Notre Dame
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB, Nebraska
SAM YOON ‘22, OL, UCLA
2025 LOYOLA VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
8-22 Cathedral (L 36-14)
8-29 @ Millikan (Long Beach)
9-5 Mount Miguel
9-12 @ Hamilton (Los Angeles)
9-19 St. Francis
10-3 @ Notre Dame*
10-10 @ Serra*
10-17 Bishop Amat*
10-24 @ Chaminade*
10-31 Sierra Canyon*
Denotes Mission League game