
Legendary Mater Dei football coach Bruce Rollinson (Mater Dei High School Scarlet Scroll)
Mater Dei entered the season as the No. 12 team in the USA TODAY Super 25. Barring a huge collapse they’ll be moving up come Monday following what should be a blowout victory against unranked Bishop Amat. When asked about avoiding precisely such a collapse from a 49-7 lead via the use of halftime adjustments, Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson had an appropriate response:
That, ladies and gentlemen, is almost Gregg Popovich-level trolling of a sideline reporter. And who was that aforementioned reporter? None other than Chris Rix. Yes, that Chris Rix.
To be fair to Rix, he’s a Bishop Amat graduate who was just trying to do his job. Watching your alma mater get shellacked at home in a season opener can’t be the easiest thing to endure, particularly when you have to keep up a brave face and go interview the man who is orchestrating that aforementioned blowout. The crazy thing is that Rollinson wasn’t wrong, either; if he had spent his halftime hanging out at the concession stand, he probably could have picked up both a burger and a dog, had a nice mid-game meal and then got back to it, with his team just as likely to keep cruising.
The lesson? Be careful what you ask when you’re a sideline reporter.