Bengals Down Vikings Lewiston Posts 28-18 Mistake-Filled Iel Win Over Coeur D’Alene

Lewiston High football coach Nick Menegas said he wishes his team was back to where it was.

It may seem like a rather backward statement considering the Bengals are undefeated in three Inland Empire League games after they topped Coeur d’Alene 28-18 at Viking Field on Friday.

“We need to get back,” Menegas said, referring to where his team (5-2 overall) was mentally.

“We made so many strides,” Menegas said of the season prior to the mistake-filled game against the Vikings. “After all the mental errors and penalties we need to go back to square one. The practice week was not good. (The practices) definitely reflected the game. We need to have that hunger on Monday and expect to have it on Friday.”

Nevertheless, the Bengals earned their fourth straight victory.

CdA, coming off its 14-6 upset of Sandpoint, slipped to 1-6 overall, 1-2 against all IEL teams (1-1 against the IEL’s Division II teams).

Bengals senior tight end Josh Wolf caught a pair of touchdowns, capitalizing on the absence of CdA’s top cornerback Levi Beckman, who was out with a shoulder injury but is expected back next week.

Wolf’s first TD reception and a two-point conversion gave Lewiston the lead for good at 21-18 with a little more than a minute left in the first half. He caught a 25-yard slant pass from Neil Litchfield that left him uncontested for the score. The catch culminated a 70-yard Bengals drive.

Similarly, a 7-yard slant by Wolf at the 7-minute mark of the third quarter was the game’s final score.

The Viks pulled ahead early in the first quarter with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by sophomore Kyle Ahlf. A 3-yard toss from Ahlf to Ryan Moe took the 12-0 lead.

Lewiston penalties served as a nightmare. Back-to-back TDs were called back in the final 5 minutes of the third quarter.

The Bengals fumbled three times, losing two.

Pat Goodwin’s valiant running effort for the Viks resulted in a 24-yard TD in the second that gave CdA its last lead at 18-13.

“It’s still, as far as I’m concerned, a progression,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said. “The league title is up for grabs and we’re right in there with everybody else. The last part of the season begins. If we’re lucky enough we’ll be in control of our own destiny.”

Lewiston 28, Coeur d’Alene 18

Lewiston 7 14 7 0 - 28

Coeur d’Alene 12 6 0 0 - 18

C-Neil Litchfield 1 run (kick failed) C-Ryan Moe 3 pass from Ahlf (pass failed) L-Mike Rogers 12 run (Anderson kick) L-Dave Steen 5 run (kick failed) C-Goodwin 24 run (pass failed) L-Wolf 25 pass from Litchfield (Rogers pass from Litchfield) L-Wolf 7 pass from Litchfield (Anderson kick)