What’s an American Fork?
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‘What’s an American Fork,’ I asked Bruce Rollinson, the football coach at Mater Dei.
‘An American Fork,’ he tells me, ‘is a pretty prominent football program in Utah, whose coach [Davis Knight] is a legend, who already has played four games this season.’
The next opponent on Mater Dei’s plate is American Fork, Utah, at Santa Ana Stadium on Friday. The Cavemen -- and that’s one of the best team nicknames I’ve heard this season -- come into the game with a 3-1 record. Mater Dei will be making its second start of the season.
‘What I really believe is that this might be booster club-driven, that they wanted to put the boys on the road and test the waters in Southern California,’ Rollinson said. ‘They have next week off. I was approached, it kind of intrigued me, I liked the way the coach was open and accessible, no secrets. It’s a one-year contract, so it gives me some flexibility the following year to work on my schedule.’
In its three victories, American Fork outscored opponents, 108-14; in its loss, it was beaten, 24-13, on an 85-yard interception return. The Cavemen are ranked No. 10 in the state.
Even though Rollinson knows what an American Fork is, he’s not completely sure what it looks like.
‘I don’t like the fact we have very little to go by,’ Rollinson said. ‘We did exchange our scrimmage tape with one of their game tapes, but it was a semi-blowout and it looked like he was playing the reserves very early. I don’t think there was any deception, I think they grabbed a tape and shot it off. That poses a little discomfort. We pretty much know when a team goes to the bathroom by the time we’re ready to play.’