Hottest ticket in Orange County: Mater Dei-Servite
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The hottest ticket in Orange County is for tonight’s sold-out high school football game between Catholic school rivals Santa Ana Mater Dei and Anaheim Servite at Santa Ana Stadium.
A crowd of 10,000 is expected, and if you called Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson during the week and got his answering machine, his messages was: “Wear red. It’s going to rock.”
More than two hours before game time, long lines were formed at the visitor and home entrances. Servite’s line stretched down Civic Center Drive until gates opened at 6 p.m., and fans dressed in black began to fill the visitors’s side of the stadium.
Rollinson is 19-0-1 against Servite since he took over as Mater Dei coach in 1989. Servite fans are desperate to end their 0-19-1 drought, and they go in with some confidence. Servite is 5-1 overall and ranked No. 5 by The Times. Mater Dei is 3-3 and unranked.
The game was originally scheduled for Angel Stadium but was switched because of the Angels-Yankees series. Interest remains high, particularly among alumni, who view it as a year’s worth of bragging rights.
A Mater Dei video kept playing over and over during warmups with Rollinson exhorting players in his distinct gravelly voice. If the Monarchs were trying to get a psychological edge, it wasn’t working on Servite quarterback Cody Fajardo, who wore ear headphones.
The action begins at 7:30 p.m., and I’ll be telling you about the big plays and whether history will be made.
-- Eric Sondheimer