Monarchs Leave Servite ‘Thunderstruck’ : Prep football: Mater Dei’s head-banging gives Rollinson something to sing about.

Bruce Rollinson, Mater Dei’s clean-cut football coach, doesn’t look much like the lead singer in a head-banging rock group.

But his touching lip-sync rendition of the AC/DC song “Thunderstruck” at a Mater Dei pep rally Thursday definitely struck a chord with the Monarch defense.

By Thursday night, Mater Dei’s defense had left Servite thunderstruck, bringing the Friars’ stumbling, bumbling and fumbling offense to a standstill in a 44-0 Angelus League victory before 9,000 fans at Orange Coast College.

The Monarchs’ motivation?

“We got to see Coach Rollinson rock and roll at the pep rally,” said defensive tackle Josh Coggins, who forced two of Servite’s four first-half fumbles. “I mean, look at the guy. Could you imagine him doing ‘Thunderstruck’?”

Said Rollinson: “It’s a great win for Mater Dei. Yeah, I wanted to shut them out. We wanted to keep that zero.

“It’s time to rock and roll, baby.”

Mater Dei, top-ranked in Orange County, forced six turnovers, including three fumbles by Servite running back Elphamous Malbrue. The Monarchs converted five into scoring opportunities.

Defensive back Ray Jackson had a big hand in the victory, recovering a fumble in the first quarter, then returning an interception 35 yards to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Billy Blanton, giving Mater Dei a 24-0 lead with one minute left in the second quarter.

On Servite’s next play from scrimmage, Coggins knocked over Malbrue, knocked the ball loose and recovered it at the Servite 17. Blanton then threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Brian Barajas with 22 seconds left in the half.

By halftime, Mater Dei led, 31-0, had turned the game between Orange County’s Catholic school powers into a blowout.

“We just came out and dominated Servite up front,” said Mater Dei linebacker Jason Thies, who had two of six sacks of Servite quarterback Josh Nelson. “Servite couldn’t pass on us, and Servite couldn’t run on us.”

The statistics back him up. Servite managed only 42 yards rushing and eight first downs. Nelson was 10 of 19 passes for 95 yards and two interceptions.

His second interception came with 3 minutes 16 seconds left in the third quarter, when Barajas picked off the ball and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown, giving Mater Dei a 41-0 lead. It was Barajas’ sixth interception.