With spring practice in the books, new Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) head coach Raul Lara met with the media Wednesday. Lara has been going full-speed since taking-over the four-time High School Football America national champs at the end of April.
In his opening remarks, Lara, who led Long Beach Poly to national prominence, addressed the tradition that was built by Bruce Rollinson, who retired at the end of the 2022 season.
Recently, Lara asked Rollinson to join him for lunch at the school. The legendary coach and Monarch alum accepted the invitation, marking the first time he had been back on campus since his retirement.
Lara, who has spent the last three years as the head coach at St. Anthony’s, is best known for his 13 years at Long Beach Poly. He won five Division 1 titles as the head coach of the Jackrabbits. His record at Poly was 142-30.
After leaving Poly, Lara became the head coach at Warren High School. He took over a program that was 1-28-1 in the previous three seasons. During his five years with the Bears, he led the program to a 29-23-1 record.
Under Lara’s leadership, St. Anthony’s was 21-14 over the last three years.
Below are answers to different questions posed to Lara during the news conference.
What are the differences since his time at Poly?
Rivalry with St. John Bosco
Mater Dei and Bosco have won six of the last seven HSFA national championships. MD won titles in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2023. SJB captured titles in 2019 and 2022.
