By ALLAN STEELE
STAFF WRITER
HEMET ● Usually the main storyline at the start of the Mountain Pass League season is whether anyone can close the gap on perennial champion Citrus Hill.
But if Week 1 of league play is any indication, a new storyline may be emerging.
Just how good is Beaumont’s defense?
The Cougars opened league play with a 28-0 win over Hemet on Friday, running their winning streak to three games as the defense notched its second straight shutout.
The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-1) have been struggling with youth and inconsistency, and Beaumont (3-3, 1-0) took advantage early, with Austin Bourgouin picking off a pass on the game’s first play. The Cougars turned it into a quick 7-0 lead when quarterback Kyle Phillips scored from 5 yards out.
The defense did the rest.
“We set the tone early,” said Phillips, who also contributed in the defensive secondary. “We wanted to show them we weren’t pushovers like the past couple of years.”
While the defense was shutting down the Hemet running game and limiting quarterback Joey Iribe to quick-hit short passes that either fell incomplete or totaled little yardage, the Beaumont running game pounded away at the Bulldog defense.
Donny Ortega ran for 106 yards and Fabian Marble added102 yards. Marble also scored two touchdowns, his 4-yard score putting the Cougars up 21-0 at the half.
“I think their front four gave us fits with what we do offensively,” Hemet coach Jason Thornburg said. “We couldn’t sustain anything moving the ball. Anytime we tried to pull a guard they were in the backfield and anytime we tried to pass they were pressuring our quarterback.”
Hemet had just three series in the second half. The Bulldogs punted twice and then were stopped on a fourth-down in the closing minutes of the game.
“It was all defense,” Phillips said. “The defense set it up and the offense did what we had to do.”
Hemet rushed for 50 yards and Iribe finished 9 of 20 for 57 yards and was intercepted twice. Daniel Heffington came in late and rushed for a team-high 27 yards on four carries.
The Cougars improved to 3-1 on the road.