The lights turned out for the final time at the Moniteau Warriors stadium this season and the 57-12 score against the Keystone Panthers was one to forget. But the focus shifted from the game to the well-being of Moniteau starting quarterback, Trent Beachem, fairly quickly.

“We’re hoping that the life flight was for precautionary reasons, but [Trent and his family] are going to be in our prayers,” Moniteau head coach Robert Rottman said.

The stadium went silent and stayed that way for nearly 10 minutes after Beachem was dragged down from behind on a bootleg by Josh Beal towards the end of the second quarter. As he was taken off the field, Beachem, who suffered an upper leg injury, put his thumb up to let everyone know he was alright.

By that point, the Warriors were already down 28-6. Tyler Albright scored both of the touchdowns in the first quarter for the Panthers. The first of which came on the first drive on a 16-yard run. The second came nine minutes later. Those nine minutes were the longest the Warriors held the Panthers without scoring.

The Panthers know a thing or two about being banged up as well. Something head coach Todd Smith noted.

“Coming into this game, we haven’t been very healthy,” Smith said. “Tonight is the healthiest we’ve been in a while and I’m pleased with our performance.”

As the second period of play opened, Beachem led the Warriors down the field with the help of senior running back, Hunter Stalker, who ran for two touchdowns and 218 yards on his senior night.

Their next drive, Beachem went down and the scene was scary, but Beachem told his brother, Brock, who is also on the team that he wanted him to stay and finish out the game.

“His brother, Brock, is on the team and we tried to get him to go with his brother, but Trent told him to stick around and finish the game,” Rottman said. “That’s the kind of person he is, and our team rallied around that and lifted Brock up.”

As Beachem had gone down on the play that he was injured, he also fumbled the ball. It took only seconds for the Panthers to punch the ball after he left the game. It didn’t take them long to pick off Beachem’s replacement, Brendin Sankey. Just like that, the score shifted to 41-6 at half.

But the Warriors didn’t stop fighting.

Only one touchdown was scored in the third quarter, as the mercy rule ate the clock. That score came from Kyle Nellis on a 31-yard run. It was his second touchdown of the night.

The Warriors found the endzone just once more. On first and 43, Stalker was able to find room on the sideline and take the ball 75 yards to the house. To Brock, that score was for his brother and represents how much fight the team had.

“Trent is one of the strongest people I know, and he doesn’t go down often, so when he did we knew something was wrong,” Brock Beachem said. “But we came together and got another touchdown from it, and that was for [Trent].”

The Warriors season comes to close, but their final game served as a reminder that some things are bigger than the game.

Moniteau 0 6 0 6

Keystone 14 27 7 9

First Quarter

K- Tyler Albright 16 run (Josh Beal kick), 10:12

K- Tyler Albright 34 pass from Drew Keth (Josh Beal kick), 1:02

Second Quarter

M- Hunter Stalker 27 run (Conner Alfreno kick failed), 10:24

K- Kyle Nellis 27 run (Aidan Sell conversion), 8:39

K- Tyler Albright 1 pass from Drew Keth (Josh Beal kick), 7:37

K- Kyle Nellis 46 run (Josh Beal kick), 1:12

K- Tyler Albright 5 pass from Drew Keth (Josh Beal kick failed), 0:00

Third Quarter

K- Kyle Nellis 31 run (Josh Beal kick), 5:51

Fourth Quarter

K- Josh Beal 34 field goal, 8:18

M- Hunter Stalker 75 run (Conner Alfreno kick failed), 4:59

K- Jacob Henry 1 run (Spencer Heeter conversion failed), 3:13

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Moniteau, Hunter Stalker 20-218, Kole Scott 3-38, Matt Martino 4-35, Trent Beachem 3-24, Logan Campbell 5-22, Brendin Sankey 3-(-14). Keystone, Kyle Nellis 12-173, Aidan Sell 10-100, Tyler Albright 4-45, Jacob Henry 3-15, Rayce Weaver 2-11, Jorge Reyes 3-5.

Passing: Moniteau, Trent Beachem 0-2-0-0, Brendin Sankey 0-3-0-1. Keystone, Drew Keth 5-6-67-0.

Receiving: Keystone, Tyler Albright 4-55, Drew Slaugenhaupt 1-12.