PREP EXTRA: SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Perry Paces Mater Dei’s Rout of San Clemente

SANTA ANA —  It was Rod Perry’s speed that gave Mater Dei the early boost it needed in the Monarchs’ 38-7 South Coast League victory over San Clemente Friday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

Perry, a sophomore split end, ran down Triton free safety Sean Kolmer after Kolmer intercepted a pass from John Flynn at the goal line on the opening drive and headed for open territory.

Perry finally caught Kolmer at the Monarch 34 and the defense then forced a long field-goal attempt that was wide.

On the ensuing drive, Perry gave second-ranked Mater Dei a 7-0 lead when he caught a short pass in the flat, broke two tackles on the sideline and raced 61 yards for the score.

From then on, Mater Dei dominated the game on both sides of the ball.

Senior Steve Bodnar scored on runs of seven and 15 yards and Pat Shinnefield booted a 36-yard field goal giving Mater Dei (7-0, 2-0) a 24-0 halftime lead.

Flynn, who has thrown only two interceptions this season, recovered from his opening miscue and passed for 185 first-half yards.

Defensively, the Monarchs held San Clemente to minus-one yard rushing by halftime.

Mater Dei added to its lead in the second half on Bodnar’s third and fourth touchdowns of the game. The first was a four-yard burst with 51 seconds left in the third quarter and the other covered 37 yards early in the fourth.

The Tritons (3-4, 0-2) got their onlyscore on a 18-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Carlin to Trevor Insley with 5:57 left in the game.

Bodnar ran for 73 yards, giving him 143 yards in 17 carries and Flynn completed 17 of 28 passes for 249 yards.