High school football: No. 1 Mater Dei kicks off season in California-Texas showdown at No. 13 Duncanville

High school football's No. 1-ranked team Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) opens the season Friday at No. 13 Duncanville (Texas). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with the showdown being streamed by FloFootball.

Longtime Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said he's trying to ignore all the history and hyperbole and just play the game. But it's not easy.

"From the start, I just saw it as a big game against a perennial power from Texas and nothing more," said the 72-year-old Rollinson. "Now that the game is drawing nearer it's getting bigger and bigger. ... It's a big deal."

Mater Dei's strength is its depth of talent. The Monarchs have upwards of 12 senior players with Power 5 offers and an equally talented underclass that features its starting quarterback, sophomore Elijah Brown, who looked awfully polished as a freshman leading the Monarchs to a 5-0 spring season. He's the No. 52 player nationally from the Class of 2024, while teammate Aydin Breland, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive lineman, is ranked No. 49.

"We threw a lot of new packages at Elijah during the summer and he's starting to look very comfortable in it," Rollinson said of his quarterback. "He played in front of 2,000 fans in April, but it's going to be a little different in Texas. He'll manage it all. He's our guy." Duncanville, state 6A-1 runner-ups in 2018 and 2019, features loads of speed and talent, especially on the defensive side, with edge rusher Omari Abor, a five-star recruit and linebacker Jordan Crook, an Arkansas commit. Linebacker Colin Simmons is the No. 46 sophomore in the country and offensive lineman Jaylen Early has pledged to Florida State.

The Panthers feature nine of the top 83 senior recruits in the Dallas area and five have committed to Power 5 schools, according to the Dallas Morning News.

"Their lines are massive and talented," Rollinson said. "That's where the game will be won or lost."

Beyond all the talent are two decorated head coach in Rollinson (32 seasons, 317-86-2) and Duncanville's Reginald Samples (31 seasons, 296-85).

Rollinson has spent his entire career at Mater Dei, while Samples had stops at Lincoln and Skyline before taking over in 2015 at Duncanville. He's referred to as "The Godfather" among coaches in the region and led teams to three state title games.

Asked if he would retire if he won his first state crown after this season, Samples told the Dallas Morning News: "No. It's not about a state title. We've got a great program, great kids. When I start feeling bad about getting up and coming here, that's when I'm going to quit. I don't feel that way."

This is the second straight year Duncanville takes on the out-of-state national No. 1. Last season, the Panthers dropped a 41-14 game to eventual MaxPreps National Champion IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at Globe Life Park. The Panthers finished 10-2, losing in the 6A state semifinals to Southlake Carroll (Southlake). Other items of note: 

• For the second straight week a California team attempts to represent the Golden State against a ranked program from a power gridiron state. On Friday, No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first six minutes en route to a 35-12 win over then-No. 15 Central (Miami).

• Since at least 2004, when MaxPreps began national rankings, this is the first time that a California-Texas match-up features two Top 25 ranked teams.

• This game ranks No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top Biggest Games of the Year.  

• Combined records the last five seasons: Duncanville 61-8, Mater Dei 59-3.

• Under Rollinson, Mater Dei has been crowned national champions four times by various media outlets: 1994, 1996, 2017 and 2018.

• This is the opener for both teams, though Mater Dei scrimmaged Centennial (Corona, Calif.) last Friday. The teams has been schedule to meet, but the Huskies canceled the game after quarantining and failing to meet the state-mandated practice threshold to play a game. Rollinson was pleased with his team's play and that there were no major injuries. "I'll be indebted to (Centennial) coach (Matt) Logan for getting that scrimmage in," Rollinson said. "I really didn't want to go into Texas without our younger guys getting in some full contact."

• Mater Dei's travel party to Texas is 95, including 64 players, along with coaches, support staff and administrators. A cheer and song squad is also accompanying the team. Mater Dei's girls volleyball team also is in Texas this week playing in an Austin tournament starting Tuesday. "The hardest part is leaving kids home," Rollinson said. "We've had kids in the program four years we can't take with us. We can only take so many otherwise we'd be checking in kids at the airport all day."

• Rollinson said the team tested for COVID-19 on Monday morning, and now "we're keeping our fingers crossed." Scattered Monday morning results were all negative, he said, and they'll continue to filter in through Tuesday morning. "Frankly, it's nerve-racking," Rollinson said.

• The Monarchs plan three regular day of practice at home before a Thursday walk through and noon flight for Dallas. They hope to tour the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium on Friday morning before the game later that night at Duncanville.

• Mater Dei hasn't traveled much over the years, but is 3-0 out of state since 2018. Two of the trips were via bus to Las Vegas, beating Bishop Gorman (42-0) and Centennial (Ariz.) (71-21). The third was to Washington D.C., where they beat St. John's (Washington D.C.), 53-24.  

"If we can get past the (COVID) tests and the travel, we'll be ready to rock and roll," Rollinson said.