Hey, Millikan, be careful out there

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Sophomore defensive tackle Kevin Marroquin and his Long Beach Millikan teammates are apparently over the Rams’ last-minute 34-28 loss to Compton last week.

When Millikan’s last drive of the Moore League game was stopped at the goal line after Joshua Skillern was ruled to have fumbled the ball away instead of scoring what would have been a tying touchdown, nobody on the Rams’ sideline was very happy about it. And most coaches and players weren’t shy about letting the officiating crew know that they believed Skillern was already down before he lost the ball.

Compton, which recovered the fumble in the end zone, took over possession and ran out the clock.

Afterward, Marroquin struggled to breathe, was diagnosed as hyperventilating, and had to be tended to by paramedics before being taken to the locker room on a motorized cart after most everyone else had left the field.

Millikan Coach Kirk Diego found out later that Marroquin, a hard-driving, emotional player anyway, had taken caffeine tablets in an effort to boost his energy level for the game.

‘We talk to them about Red Bull, that energy drink, and other kinds of supplements, all the time,’ Diego said. ‘But caffeine tablets are new to me. Now, we gotta add that to the list, too.’ Give this story about Red Bull and other energy boosters a read here.

According to Diego, Marroquin had not eaten properly or hydrated himself well before and during the game, and may have felt greater effects of the added caffeine because of that.

Marroquin recovered Friday night, but sat out the team’s practice Monday as a precaution.

‘He’s OK now,’ Diego said. ‘He’s been out there, he’s fine, and should be good to go for the game.’

Less likely to be available for Friday’s league game against visiting Corona Roosevelt is junior running back Jonathan Sanders, who has been bothered by a strained right knee.

‘I think he could play, and he wants to play, but his mom got involved,’ Diego said with a chuckle.

Sanders went to a doctor about the injury, which caused him to sit out the Rams’ game at Lakewood on Oct. 19, and he is expected to sit out the next two weeks.

-- Lauren Peterson