BEAUMONT — Cleve Johnson’s 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown broke open a close game and provided the impetus for Beaumont’s 42-13 nonleague victory against Murrieta Mesa on Thursday night. Murrieta Mesa (1-4) closed to within 13-7 with 9:14 left in the third quarter on Royal Randolph’s 40-yard touchdown run. But then Johnson took the ensuing kickoff and started right, then reversed field and dashed nearly the length of the field for the touchdown. “We practice running it one way, and then reversing it,” Johnson said. “I saw my opportunity. I took it one way, then to the other side, and the last guy I saw was the kicker, and I got past him. It felt great.” Beaumont added two more touchdowns before the end of the quarter to take complete control. A 7-yard touchdown pass from Jeremiah Duhu to Javaan Stewart increased Beaumont’s lead to 28-7. Then a 31-yard touchdown run by Stewart on a reverse ballooned the margin to 28 points. That was way too much to overcome for a Murrieta Mesa team that was missing multiple starters, mostly due to injury. “We got beat by a team that had all of their guys, and we didn’t have all of ours,” Murrieta Mesa coach Oscar McBride said. “We have a ton of injuries.” Beaumont (4-1) attacked Murrieta Mesa with surgical precision in the first quarter. The Cougars took a 7-0 lead on seven-play drive, capped by Duhu’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Braedon Miller on a fade route into the left corner of the end zone. The next time Beaumont got the ball, it took nine plays to drive 81 yards to score on Johnson’s 6-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0. The offensive line of Joseph Gonzales, Christian Flores Martinez, William Allen, Roman Angulo, and Matthew Casas excelled for Beaumont. That was all the scoring for Beaumont until Johnson’s game-breaking kickoff return in the third quarter. McBride complimented the play of running backs Artyon Celestine and Randolph and receiver Cooper Murphy. Duhu threw for 186 yards for Beaumont. Miller caught four passes for 61 yards, and Johnson had four catches for 51 yards. Running back Trashawn James-Reek had a big night for Beaumont with 95 yards on 10 carries. Backup Murrieta Mesa quarterback Josue Estrada threw for 96 yards, and two-way player Murphy caught three passes for 60 yards. Randolph rushed six times for 57 yards and one touchdown. Murrieta Mesa also scored a late touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Estrada to Tristan Vialpando. “We had a chance,” McBride said. “We took the ball down and scored on the first drive of the second half. “But then we gave up the big kickoff return and never got the momentum back.” Tyler Dyer was all over the field for Beaumont, making two sacks, recovering a fumble, making tackles and breaking up passes. “It felt like everything was flowing,” Dyer said. “We were just doing our assignments. Everything was clicking.” Beaumont has a bye next week before hosting Cajon in a huge Citrus Belt League opener on Oct. 4. “I’m pretty excited for league, especially starting with Cajon,” Dyer said. “It’s going to be a really good game.” Murrieta Mesa opens its league schedule at Temecula Valley on Oct. 3.