Video: MaxPreps 2017 All-American show
MaxPreps football editor Zack Poff and Myckena Guerrero break down the best of the best.Following a perfect 15-0 season and a dominating campaign that featured a 724-229 point differential, included decisive victories over five nationally ranked teams, and culminated with a 52-21 win over a longtime nemesis to win his storied program's first state title,
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) coach Bruce Rollinson had two profound words to sum things up.
"Dilly, dilly," he said over a loud speaker at Sacramento State after the CIF Open Division title
win over then 15th-ranked De La Salle (Concord).
OK, so not so profound and actually just one word repeated. But Rollinson's summation revealed a couple key points.
The 68-year-old still has a good sense of humor and he's very much up-to-date on his pop culture references, mimicking a popular television commercial that mocks fun at "Game of Thrones."
The ability to adapt, stay current and keep his talented team in check were big reasons why the Monarchs completed one of the best seasons in high school football history, claimed their third national championship (first since 1996) and why Rollinson is the 2017 MaxPreps National Football Coach of the Year.
At 64, following a 4-6 season in 2011, there were murmurs around Southern California that the game had passed him by. Rather than fight the claims, Rollinson "blew up" the program, got more progressive and, steadily, Mater Dei rose back up the ranks to its lofty perch among the national elite.
The 2017 edition of the Monarchs blew all others out of the water, something Rollinson didn't admit until after the state-title game.
Mater Dei also defeated defending national champion Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 35-21 — snapping the Gaels' 55-game win streak — and national power and recent SoCal nemesis St. John Bosco (Bellflower) twice, by combined counts of 80-45.
Most remarkably, the Monarchs, led by first-team All-Americans, quarterback
JT Daniels, receiver
Amon-Ra St. Brown, and tackle
Tommy Brown, didn't trail once all season.
Dilly, dilly indeed.
Even Rollinson, with a 287-83-2 record over 29 seasons with two mythical nation crowns in the 1990s, was taken aback.
"With all due respect to all my other teams, this one is the tops," he said. "They were No. 1 to start the season and finished No. 1. That's a lot of pressure. But they handled all of it. That was impressive."
Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson is interviewed while holding the Open Division state championship trophy following the victory over De La Salle.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
