Mater Dei - Game Notes
With a 7-2 record Santa Margarita is off top their best start since 2001 when they were 7-1-1 after nine weeks.
This is the fifth game between Santa Margarita and the Mater Dei Monarchs and the Eagles lead the series 3-1. It is also their second meeting at Cal State Fullerton where the Eagles are 1-0 vs. the Monarchs.
Last year, Ashton White scored two touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 19-0 shutout of arch-rival Mater Dei before 4,500 rain soaked fans at Trabuco Hills High School. In 2001, Ashton White rushed for 215 yards and Marshall Tharpe threw two touchdown passes while the Eagle defense forced three turnovers and six sacks in defeating the Monarchs 33-19 at the Santa Ana Bowl. In 2000, The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead behind two touchdowns by Tyler Thompson and made enough big plays on offense, defense and special teams to hold on and defeat the nationally ranked Monarchs 21-14 at Cal State Fullerton. In 1999, Mater Dei piled up 400 yards while limiting the Eagles to 155 total yards in a 34-0 victory before a crowd of 17,000 at Edison International Field. (Complete recaps of all three games are included herein.)
Mater Dei is 5-4 on the season, and are coming off an impressive 35-7 win over Servite. Last year they finished 10-4 and advanced to the CIF-SS Division I Final where they fell 31-7 to Division I Champion Los Alamitos. The Monarchs are ranked 8th in this weeks CIF-SS Division I poll, and 8th in the OC Sportswriter’s poll and are led by 15th-year coach Bruce Rollinson who is 155-37-2 (.804) including a 1-3 mark against the Eagles.
The Eagles are ranked 4th in Orange County, 6th in CIF-SS Division I, and 20th in Southern California per the Los Angeles Times. They have been ranked in the Orange County Top 10 for 89 of the last 99 weekly polls, and in the CIF Division I Top 10 for 44 of the 50 weekly polls since joining Division I in 1999.
Eagle - Monarch History (SM Leads 3-1)
1999 MD 34, SM 0 @ Edison International Field
2000 SM 21, MD 14 @ Cal State Fullerton
2001 SM 33, MD 19 @ Santa Ana Bowl
2002 SM 19, MD 0 @ Trabuco Hills High School
Serra League Schedule for Week 10
EAGLES (7-2, 2-2) @ Mater Dei (5-4, 3-1)
Loyola (6-3, 3-1) @ Bishop Amat (6-3, 2-2)
St. John Bosco (6-3, 1-3) @ Servite (6-3, 1-3)
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
