With a quality group of All-Moore League stars returning from one of its most surprising and successful seasons in decades, Millikan leads the Moore League chase pack behind defending champion Poly.
The Rams won their first playoff game since 1986 last year after finishing second in league with a 9-3 overall record. Millikan was 1-9 the year before, but first-year coach Justin Utupo quickly changed the culture with his honest and strong coaching style. Utupo, a former Lakewood High and University of Notre Dame linebacker, knows his team can’t buy into their own hype.
“Yeah, I feel good about last year, but we’ll see,” Utupo said. “All of these (scholarship) offers and what we did last year really doesn’t matter. We really don’t know what team we have until we line up against Carson on Aug. 17.”
Everyone knows that Millikan is stacked with talent on offense, led by receiver Malik Bradford, who is committed to the University of California, Berkley. He will be catching passes from returning junior quarterback Qeanu Campbell-Caldwell. The 6’2” 210-pound Bradford led the Rams with 35 catches, 666 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, while Campbell-Caldwell threw for 2,574 yards and 31 touchdowns.
“I know everyone is going to come at me every game,” Bradford said. “They’re going to try to prove they’re better than me, and take my offer. So, I’ve been training a lot harder this year. If we just keep communicating as a team, we’ll be able to do the same things as last year, and even better.”
Bradford will be joined on the outside by fellow seniors Zach Martin and Jayden Davis, who have both received scholarship offers. Last year, they combined to catch 42 passes and six touchdowns from Campbell-Caldwell. The Millikan coaches hope that another year of studying will help Campbell-Caldwell mature as a decision maker. He likely will break multiple school passing records this season.
“I want to see him become a student of the game,” Utupo said. “You want to keep it real simple for a young starting quarterback. Now, he’s a junior. So we open up the playbook. Not with more plays, but with more variations with the same plays. Now he has more options.”
Campbell-Caldwell will be joined in the backfield by a pair of very different running backs. Returning senior starter Qu’juan Campbell rushed for 762 yards and eight touchdowns last season while averaging almost seven yards per carry. Senior Jaylen Jefferson transferred back from St. Anthony in the offseason. The 6’1” 205-pound hard-nosed runner is the thunder to Campbell’s lightning speed. Jefferson led St. Anthony with 777 yards (8 YPC) and eight touchdowns last season.
Millikan’s offensive and defensive lines will be led by seniors Andrew Miramontes, Jacob Starkey, Imhotep Pryor, Xavius Tauta and John Harding. Utupo said junior junior defensive lineman Eliuta Noa is one of his favorite additions, but senior linebacker Nik Lombardi is the unquestioned leader-by-example on defense. Lombardi is only 5’9” and 170 pounds, but he led the Rams with 62 solo tackles last season.
“He is a coach on the field,” Utupo said. “Every other player on the team can out run him, but Nik plays fast because he can process information fast.”
Jefferson and junior Joshua Robinson-Little will join Lombardi at linebacker, and the defensive secondary will be led by returning starters Davis, Martin and senior Albert Fuller.
Millikan only has nine games on the schedule this season, and Utupo said he wants it that way because of how the new CIF-SS playoff equity weighs league performance over everything. It also protects his players and their overall lack of depth. The Rams will face Carson, Gahr and Aquinas in nonleague games. After a bye week, Millikan opens Moore League play against Long Beach Poly on Sept. 14.
“We started to understand what it takes to be successful,” Utupo said. “I came here to win, but if winning is you’re number one goal you’ve got it all wrong. I had to look myself in the mirror, because coaches have to do that too, and change the focus to success on and off of the field. You can win when you lose because you learn from it, and it will help you in the long run.”
Long Beach Millikan Football Season Preview
Read more about the Millikan Rams: https://stage.the562.org/2018/08/10/millikan-rams-football-season-preview/
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Offense
QB Qeanu Campbell-Caldwell, Jr.
RB Qu’juan Campbell, Jr.
RB Jaylen Jefferson, Sr.
WR Malik Bradford, Sr.
WR Jayden Davis, Sr.
WR Zach Martin, Sr.
OL Andrew Miramontes, Sr.
OL Jacob Starkey, Sr.
OL Imhotep Pryor, Sr.
OL Xavius Tauta, Sr.
Defense
DL Jacob Starkey, Sr.
DL Imhotep Pryor, Sr.
DL John Harding, Sr.
DL Eliuta Noa, Jr.
LB Nik Lombardi, Sr.
LB Joshua Robinson-Little, Jr.
LB Jaylen Jefferson, Sr.
DB Albert Fuller, Sr.
DB Jayden Davis, Sr.
DB Zach Martin, Sr.
DB Aaron Seja, Jr.
SCHEDULE
WEEK 1 AUGUST 17
Millikan @ Carson
WEEK 2 AUGUST 24
Millikan @ Gahr
WEEK 3 AUGUST 31
Millikan vs. Aquinas
WEEK 4 SEPTEMBER 7
BYE
WEEK 5 SEPTEMBER 14
Millikan @ Long Beach Poly
WEEK 6 SEPTEMBER 21
Lakewood @ Millikan
WEEK 7 SEPTEMBER 28
Millikan @ Compton
WEEK 8 OCTOBER 5
BYE
WEEK 9 OCTOBER 12
Cabrillo @ Millikan
WEEK 10 OCTOBER 19
Wilson @ Millikan
WEEK 11 OCTOBER 26
Jordan @ Millikan
*All games 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted
