Bengals Stomp Trojans Lewiston Sprints To 49-6 League Victory
Lewiston High School football coach Nick Menegas found a simple way to slow down Post Falls running back Josh Mort - never let him on the field.
Lewiston did more than stifle Mort, though. The Bengals put a muzzle on all the Trojans, sprinting to a 49-6 victory in an Inland Empire League opener for both teams at Post Falls Junior High School.
The Bengals’ win was as impressive as it was shocking. Both coaches agreed beforehand it was a pick ‘em contest.
Everything went Lewiston’s way. And everything the Trojans attempted backfired.
“We were fired up; we came to play tonight,” said Menegas, whose second-ranked team raised its overall record to 4-0. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a team - ever.”
That’s high praise - especially considering Lewiston has captured one State A-1 Division II championship and played in two other finals in the past four years.
“We dominated in the first half against a darn good football team,” Menegas said. “We wanted turnovers and we got ‘em. We wanted short field and we got it. We got big plays. And I’m so proud of our defense.”
Menegas said earlier in the week that his defense hadn’t played up to his expectations. Save a pride-salvaging touchdown by the Trojans with 18 seconds left and the Bengals threw a shutout.
“We challenged them all week in practice,” Menegas said. “This was a toss up going in. We were pretty good tonight, but we can get better.”
A frightening thought, really - particularly in a game that was over by the end of the first quarter, if not earlier.
Both coaches expected the scoreboard to get very little rest Friday. But neither coach expected just one side of the scoreboard to be operational.
Lewiston seized early momentum when it took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards in six plays. Bengals running back Laki Ah Hi plunged over left tackle from 3 yards out to put Lewiston on the scoreboard first.
After forcing Post Falls to punt on its first possession, Lewiston received the ball in ideal position at the Post Falls 42-yard line.
On fourth-and-goal from the 3, the Trojans defense appeared as if it would stall the Bengals. But Ah Hi plunged in from the 3 to put the Bengals ahead 14-0.
Then the proverbial roof started to cave in for the Trojans. Lewiston’s Levi Frazier stole the ball from Post Falls’ Shawn Michael on the ensuing kickoff at the Trojans’ 23.
Three plays later, multi-talented Lewiston quarterback Brad Rice found Matt Squires on a 7-yard out for a touchdown. The extra point kick failed, but Lewiston was well in command at 20-0 with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
Another fumble by the Trojans - they would fumble six times in the first half, losing three, and would fumble eight times overall - set up another Lewiston TD.
Rice, who gained 243 of Lewiston’s 288 yards in the first half, scrambled 19 yards for a touchdown to extend the Bengals’ lead to 28-0.
Frazier set up Lewiston’s final TD of the half on the following kickoff when he recovered another fumble. Four plays later, Rice rolled left then threw a well-timed pass back to the right for a 29-yard scoring connection with Squires.
Lewiston led 35-0 with 9:38 remaining in the first half.
The good news for the Trojans is they held the Bengals scoreless the rest of the half.
The bad news, though, was Post Falls picked up where it left off on the opening play of the third quarter when Trojan quarterback Ben Sharon fumbled the snap. Post Falls recovered, but two plays later Sharon threw an interception and Rick McCrery returned it 49 yards for a TD.
Post Falls’ best offensive series followed, but the Bengals stopped the Trojans on fourth-and-5 from the Lewiston 9. Mort, who was held to a season-low 31 yards on nine carries in the first half, was stopped for a 2-yard loss.
Mort injured his ribs and never returned thereafter. He finished with 76 yards on 19 attempts.
Post Falls coach Jerry Lee offered no excuses.
“We got hammered; they’re a really good team,” said Lee, whose Trojans fell to 3-1. “We got shellshocked and turned the ball over too much at the beginning. I’m sure we’ll regroup and get a lot better. But they’re a mighty fine team.”
Lewiston 49, Post Falls 6
Lewiston 20 15 14 0 -49
Post Falls 0 0 0 6 - 6
L-Ah Hi 3 run ( McCorkle kick) L-Ah Hi 3 run ( McCorkle kick) L-Squires 7 pass from Rice ( kick failed) L-Rice 19 run ( Rice run) L-Squires 29 pass from Rice ( McCorkle kick) L-McCrery 49 interception return ( McCorkle kick) L-Ah Hi 22 pass from Rice ( McCorkle kick) P-Fehling 4 run ( pass failed)
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 color)