Big Man, Big Moment: Toloai’s Pick-Six Sends Millikan Past La Cañada and Into Round 2

By Will League | RepMax Media

Fourth-and-4 at the Millikan 14. Under two minutes left. La Cañada trailing by four, one snap from flipping the whole night upside down.

Joe Bell had been the best player on the field. The Spartans’ quarterback ran 25 times for 126 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yard sprint in the third quarter that handed La Cañada its first lead. Everybody in the building knew the ball was going through him.

Toloai knew where it was headed.

Millikan’s defensive lineman had watched La Cañada swing its running back out of the backfield all night. On the biggest snap of the Rams’ season, he saw the look again, jumped Bell’s throw and carried it the length of the field for six. Millikan 28, La Cañada 17. Ballgame.

Linemen don’t get many chances to touch the ball. This one cashed his in.

How the Rams got there

Millikan came out like a team that knew exactly what a slow start would cost. Junior running back Ryan Carter scored on each of the Rams’ first two drives, both nine-play marches, and Millikan sat on a 14-0 lead deep into the second quarter.

Then the half slipped. Bell punched in a 2-yard run with under 20 seconds left. Millikan fumbled on its final possession, giving La Cañada the ball at the Rams’ 34. Bell found Logan Miller to stop the clock with 1.5 seconds remaining, and Connor Alexander drilled a 26-yard field goal. A two-score cushion became 14-10 in less than a minute.

Bell’s 52-yard run in the third put the Spartans up 17-14.

Here is where Millikan’s season paid off. This group entered the playoffs at 3-7, with all three wins coming in Moore League play, and it had already learned how to play from behind. Carter answered with a seven-play, three-minute drive and finished it himself from 8 yards out. Rams 21-17.

La Cañada then marched to the Millikan 14. You know the rest.

What Coach Pellum told me

I checked in with Millikan head coach Romeo Pellum after the game and asked how it felt to survive a night like that. His answer:

“It was a great way for our guys to find a way to win. We needed someone to make a play, and our defense made one at the perfect time! Way to finish the game. We now have another opportunity to practice and work towards 1-0 again.”

That last line is the whole Pellum program in one sentence. No celebrating the bracket. Back to 1-0.

He also credited La Cañada’s plan to slow the pace and keep his offense off the field. The numbers back him up. Bell’s 25 carries ate clock all night, and Millikan’s offense had to make its possessions count.

By the numbers

• Ryan Carter (Jr., RB): 18 carries, 77 yards, all three Millikan offensive touchdowns

• Jonah Tuaniga (So.): 13-of-19 passing, 127 yards

• Jay Williams (Sr.): 7 catches, 89 yards

• Toloai (DL): interception returned for the clinching touchdown; now tied for the team lead in interceptions

• Joe Bell (La Cañada QB): 25 carries, 126 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns

The bigger picture

This was Millikan’s first playoff win in three years. Carter put it plainly after the game: “We had to break that curse.”

La Cañada was no soft landing. The Spartans came in at 8-2 as undefeated Arroyo League champions. Millikan beat them on the road.

My call for Round 2

Millikan wins at Barstow.

Barstow hung 41 on Pacifica in the first round, so this will not be easy. But a defense that held its nerve on fourth down against a 126-yard rusher travels, and the Rams have Carter. He showed on that go-ahead drive that he can finish when the game demands it. I’m taking the Rams.

The Division 7 second round sends Millikan on the long trip to Barstow next week, with eight teams left in the bracket.

Is Toloai’s pick-six the best defensive play of the CIF-SS first round? Make your case in the comments. And follow every SoCal playoff team, prospect and stat line on RepMax.io.