PREP EXTRA : The Big Day Again Near at Mater Dei

After all the hype and buildup, Santa Ana Mater Dei High football Coach Bruce Rollinson finally got a first-hand look at Concord De La Salle’s storied football team last season.

There was plenty to see as De La Salle extended its national-record winning streak to 79 games with a 28-21 victory over Rollinson’s Monarchs at Edison Field.

“De La Salle is everything they are cracked up to be,” Rollinson said after the game. “We did everything we could. The streak is going to end some day, but we couldn’t do it.”

Mater Dei gets another shot at history Saturday night at the University of Pacific in Stockton.

De La Salle’s streak has reached 90 games. The Spartans, under Coach Bob Ladouceur, have not lost since 1991.

Can Mater Dei, the most successful Southern Section Division I team of the 1990s, stop them?

Mater Dei has nine returning starters from last season’s team that beat defending champion Long Beach Poly, 33-26, for the Division I championship and finished 13-1--its only loss, the defeat by De La Salle.

Mater Dei is 1-1 this season after losing its opener to Fresno Clovis West, 24-17, and defeating Anaheim Loara, 35-0.

Senior Matt Grootegoed is the key player for the Monarchs. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior is regarded as one of the nation’s top defensive backs and is being recruited by USC, UCLA, Michigan and Ohio State to play that position.

But Grootegoed’s influence on the Mater Dei offense will probably be the most telling factor against De La Salle.

Last season, Grootegoed began the season at quarterback but moved to tailback in the fourth game when Junior Palacios was injured. Grootegoed became one of the top rushers in the Southern Section, gaining 1,283 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. He capped the season by gaining 244 yards and scoring two touchdowns in the Southern Section final.

Before this season, Grootegoed nearly transferred to Fountain Valley to ensure that he would play quarterback. Eric Johnson, Mater Dei’s longtime defensive coordinator, was named coach at Fountain Valley and Grootegoed’s brother, Jim, was hired as part of the coaching staff.

Instead, Grootegoed returned to Mater Dei and has split time at quarterback with junior Matt Leinert. But the Monarchs have been at their best offensively when Leinert is taking snaps and making use of the talents of Grootegoed, Palacios or fullback Tyler Kruse.

Mater Dei will need everything working to beat De La Salle, which has defeated Richmond, 57-6, and Bakersfield, 35-8. In both games, the Spartans were working on shutouts at halftime, and a running clock was employed in the second half.

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Times staff writer Mike Terry contributed to this story.