PREP EXTRA / SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Strong Second Half Sparks Mater Dei

RIVERSIDE — Mater Dei football Coach Bruce Rollinson didn’t want his team getting in a scoring contest with Riverside Ramona Friday night, so the Monarchs made it a one-sided show in the second half.

The Monarchs, the second-ranked team in Orange County, pulled away in the second half to beat Ramona, 30-14, in a nonleague football game.

The score was tied, 14-14, midway through the third quarter, but Mater Dei put the game away with touchdown runs of four and one yards by Steve Bodnar and Pat Shinnefield’s 47-yard field goal.

“I was afraid of getting in a scoring contest and that’s what ended up happening,” Rollinson said.

The Monarchs marched 80 yards in 10 plays on their opening drive and took a 7-0 lead on a 14-yard run by Bodnar.

Bodnar finished with 178 yards in 16 carries and scored four touchdowns. Joe Trampush added 102 yards in 13 carries for Mater Dei (5-0).

The Rams (4-1) tied it later in the first quarter when Nian Taylor broke loose on a 92-yard punt return. But on the next play from scrimmage, Bodnar had an 80-yard touchdown run to give Mater Dei a 14-7 lead.

Ramona moved deep into Mater Dei territory twice in the second quarter, but missed a 39-field goal attempt and later was stopped on a fourth and one at the Mater Dei 15.

The Rams tied it, 14-14, in the third quarter when J.B. LaCombe caught a pass three yards past the line of scrimmage and lateraled it to Taylor, who went 55 yards for a touchdown.