About 24 hours after finding out their game at Jordan had been canceled, the Millikan Rams (1-1) hosted a scrimmage against Sante Fe High School (0-0) on Saturday afternoon. In the first semi-competitive football game on the new surface at DeHaven Stadium, the Rams were dominant in a 48-0 victory over the Chiefs.
The Rams debuted freshman quarterback Myles Jackson, who recently transferred into the school. The 6-foot-2 Jackson was impressive in the scrimmage, finishing 15/19 for 263 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think we executed pretty well,” said Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum of his team’s performance. “Offensively we kept it simple and only ran 4-5 plays but executed them really well. Myles extended a few plays and used his arm. He’s so calm and poised and it’s a good feeling to have a kid like that back there. We have a pretty good young group with five freshman starters so the future is bright.”
The Millikan defense totaled seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss, holding the Chiefs offense to just 59 yards from scrimmage. Gavin Broderick had three sacks and five tackles for loss to lead the Rams’ spot unit. Leo Moreno also chipped in a pair of sacks.
Jackson spread the ball around to seven different targets, with six hauling in multiple passes and four different players collecting touchdown grabs. The final three plays of the first half were touchdown passes for Millikan, with Jackson hitting Angelo Miranda for 13 yards, Jhae Drummer for 70 and Tacario Davis for 65 yards. Those three scores gave Millikan a 28-0 halftime advantage.\
After halftime, seniors Matthew Garcia and Royce Smith each had interceptions that they returned for touchdowns to run up the score further. Smith also had a three-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the first quarter of the game. Jackson’s fourth TD pass of the afternoon went to tight end Ryan Dubon in the fourth quarter to initiate a running clock.
The Rams will be back at home next Saturday for their Moore League opener, facing Compton for a 12 p.m. kickoff.
