Mater Dei’s Meredith to remain on sidelines

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Nebraska-bound defensive end Cameron Meredith of Mater Dei won’t be on the field tonight when the Monarchs play American Fork, Utah, at Santa Ana Stadium.

Meredith, who suffered a groin injury and missed his team’s opener last week against West Covina, won’t make his debut until next week against Long Beach Cabrillo. At the earliest.

‘He could go this week if he had to,’ said Bruce Rollinson, Mater Dei’s coach. ‘But with that kind of injury, if you bring him back too fast, it becomes an all-year thing. He’s a feature player and he determines a lot of how we scheme on defense.’

Mater Dei is ranked No. 1 in the state by CalHiSports.com as well as No. 1 in the Southland by The Times.

According to Maxpreps.com, Utah schools finished 7-5 a couple weeks ago against out-of-state opponents, and two 5A schools from Utah beat both their quality California opponents: Plain City Fremont defeated Dorsey, 27-7, and Alta defeated Clovis East, 28-12.

American Fork should find out how it stands up against an elite program, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune, which is exactly what Coach Davis Knight was looking for.

Mater Dei’s coaching staff knows little about the Cavemen, who are ranked No. 10 in the state by local papers, because they received game tape of American Fork from a blow-out game.

‘That poses a little discomfort,’ Rollinson said. ‘But it’s an opportunity to make adjustments on the fly.’

- Martin Henderson