Orange County High School Football PREP EXTRA : Mater Dei Makes Esperanza Sick, 38-28 : Football: Bodnar recovers from food poisoning to rush for 176 yards and three touchdowns.

Food poisoning couldn’t slow Mater Dei running back Steve Bodnar and neither could Esperanza, as Bodnar rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns to lead the second-ranked Monarchs to a 38-28 victory in a nonleague game at Valencia High Friday.

“I felt a little sick this morning, but I took a lot of fluids and I felt excellent out there tonight,” said Bodnar, who scored the final touchdown on a seven-yard run with 41 seconds remaining.

But Bodnar was almost the goat.

Mater Dei quarterback John Flynn, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 174 yards, seemingly put the game out of reach four minutes into the fourth quarter. After he scrambled out of the pocket, he raced 32 yards up the sideline for a touchdown and a 31-14 lead.

Third-ranked Esperanza (1-1) took the next possession and moved 80 yards in seven plays, culminating the drive when Brian Forth turned a short screen pass from Chris Stretch into a 26-yard scoring play.

On Mater Dei’s next possession, Bodnar rambled 32 yards but fumbled at the Monarch 47, where Jake Franko recovered for Esperanza with 3 minutes 56 seconds remaining.

Stretch, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns, moved the Aztecs 47 yards in five plays, capping the drive with a perfect 30-yard pass to Forth in the corner of the end zone.

Forth had seven receptions for 113 yards, and his last catch, followed by a two-point conversion run by Stretch, pulled Esperanza to within 31-28 with 2:46 remaining.

Esperanza tried an onside kick, but Peter Campbell recovered for the Monarchs at their 49.

“I was a little down on myself after the fumble,” Bodnar said. “But I just wanted to do anything I could to get into the end zone again.”

Bodnar, who scored touchdowns on runs of four and six yards in the first half, carried the ball on three consecutive plays before scoring the clincher on the fourth one.

“Our offensive line won the game for us tonight,” Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson said.

Footman was another bright spot for Esperanza. The Aztecs showed signs of life in the second half after managing just one touchdown in the first.

But three Esperanza fumbles recovered by the Monarchs proved costly as Mater Dei cashed in on one of the fumbles for a touchdown.

“I thought we dominated the first half, but Esperanza has a lot of pride and came right back at us,” Rollinson said.

But Rollinson would not get into any discussions as to who the No. 1 team in Orange County should be.

“That’s for the media to decide,” Rollinson said. “We’re not that worried about it.”

Esperanza Coach Gary Meek also had high praise for the Monarchs.

“They have a lot of weapons,” Meek said. “Those were two good teams and we came out on the short end tonight. But it’s a long season. I’d like to see them again in the playoffs.”