TEMECULA — On the silver anniversary of the crosstown rivalry between Chaparral and host Temecula Valley, it was the Pumas who dominated from start to finish, defeating the Golden Bears 42-7 Friday night.
Chaparral (3-1) scored on its first four possessions of the game to open a 28-0 lead.
“We showed up to play tonight,” said Chaparral coach Andrew Ramer. “We preached being ready all week. They beat us last year and we were out for revenge.”
The Pumas went 65 yards on 9 plays to open the game with the drive ending as quarterback Dash Beierly connected with receiver Blake Lowe on a 30-yard touchdown. Chaparral converted two fourth down plays on the drive.
Chaparral increased its lead to 14-0 on its next drive, going 85 yards on 10 plays. Running back Jayce Venable finished the drive on a 1-yard touchdown run.
After forcing a punt, the Pumas turned to their bag of tricks. Beierly took a lateral after a reverse and found a wide open Lowe for a 50-yard touchdown.
Chaparral then recovered a Temecula Valley (2-2) fumble and 4 plays later, Venable scored on a 3-yard run and a 28-0 Puma lead.
The Golden Bears got on the board with 24 seconds left in the half as quarterback Jake Bester threw a 21-yard touchdown to receiver Jake Elliott.
On its opening drive of the second half, Temecula Valley drove to the Puma 26-yard line, but Lowe intercepted Bester and sprinted 80 yards for a touchdown.
“Blake is the best player out there,” said Ramer. “ He can do anything on the field. He can run, catch, tackle, make interceptions.”
Beierly closed out the scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Chaparral defense recorded 7 sacks on the night, led by Joseph Luedtke, who had three. The Puma defense also had 11 plays that resulted in minus yards and held Temecula Valley to minus 3 yards rushing in the first half.
Temecula Valley moved the ball into Chaparral territory seven times on the night, but could only come away with 7 points.
Chaparral has now won 18 of the 25 games in the series.
Beierly ended the night completing 11 of 18 passes for 198 yards and gained 74 yards on the ground. Venable led all rushers with 80 yards on 17 carries. Lowe added two receptions for 80 yards.
Bester completed 9 of 16 passes for 107 yards and rushed 17 times for 58 yards.
Chaparral will host Great Oak next Friday while Temecula Valley will travel to Vista Murrieta.
