Beaumont Suffers Heartbreaking Loss

Beaumont had a firm grip on a season opening win Friday night.

Then came the final minute of the contest – nothing fell into place for the host Cougars and they suffered a last-second loss, 17-16, to Valley View of Moreno Valley in front of a capacity crowd at San Gorgonio Middle School.

Beaumont (0-1) valiantly rallied from a two-touchdown deficit and was leading, 16-14, with one minute left to play. Then a series of miscues proved fatal -- encroachment calls and two face mask penalties that helped the Eagles move from their own 28 to Beaumont’s 20.

Once there, all Valley View had to do was convert on a 37-yard field goal, which they did, and it was a 17-16 defeat for Beaumont.

Heartbreaking, to say the least.

“Beaumont beat Beaumont,” Beaumont Coach Paul Lopez said. “We had an opportunity to win the game at the end and couldn’t do it. We have to learn how to put it away.”

Beaumont trailed 14-0 at the half but thrilled the hometown fans with a second half surge. The Cougars got on the score board midway through the third quarter, capping a short drive with a 5-yard TD run by Joey Jeffers. That score cut Valley View’s lead to a touchdown at 14-7.

Then Beaumont really got on track, stunning Valley View with a quick score. At midfield, Cougars quarterback Josh Martin hit Sammy
Roberts for a 25-yard gain on the first play of the fourth quarter. Roberts avoided defenders and turned it into a 50-yard scoring strike.

But the Cougars faltered on the extra point. Instead of a tie game the Cougars still trailed, 14-13.

Two possessions later the Cougars used nine plays to reach Valley View’s 18-yard line. Beaumont place kicker Alan Hendey connected on a 35-yard field goal to give Beaumont what looked like a victory at 16-14.

That didn’t happen as Valley View took advantage of Beaumont errors in the game-deciding moments.

“It was mostly focus,” Martin said. “The coaches talk about hustle and focus. We showed the hustle. But the focus was not there.”

Martin misfired on a few passes. A few passes were dropped. The run game was hit-and-miss.

“I take losses hard,” Martin said. “I place the blame on myself. I have to lead this team. This loss is hard on me.”

Defensively, the Cougars held their own. Beaumont had four quarterback sacks, including fourth-quarter sacks by Evan Roberts, Martin Chavez and Dejon Brown. And Shane Norte deflected a pass, also in the fourth quarter.

“We came back but we are still young,” Lopez said.  “We need to grow on offense. We needed more offense in the first half. The defense was out there for a long time.”