Lewiston says ‘Oh-oh’ to Ah-Hi

Lewiston High football coach Emmett Dougherty’s worst nightmare played out in front of him Friday. It was called the Kevin Ah-Hi Show.

Not to be overshadowed and making a special appearance, however, was Coeur d’Alene’s defense.

The combination was too much for the Bengals as Coeur d’Alene earned one of the Inland Empire League’s two 5A state playoff berths with a 51-19 victory at Viking Field.

Lake City (7-1), a 44-42 winner over Lewiston the week before, also secured a playoff berth.

That sets up an intriguing matchup between the intracity rivals on Thursday at LC for playoff seeding and the mythical league title. It will be the first of back-to-back games between the teams for the second year in a row.

“The key to stopping him (Ah-Hi) is at the line of scrimmage, because once he gets in space he’s tough to catch and tough to bring down,” Dougherty said. “You can work all week on trying to contain him, but you just can’t simulate that. He’s very good.”

The Bengals only stopped Ah-Hi twice at the line of scrimmage. On the other 28 carries, the Viking dashed his way to 263 yards and three touchdowns.

It was competitive for a half as CdA (7-1) took a 25-13 lead into intermission.

But even as the third quarter began, it was apparent it was just a matter of time before the Vikings pulled away.

Stepping up big, though, was CdA’s defense.

The Vikings held Lewiston’s talented running backs, Brooks Reynolds and Noah McKay, to a combined 66 yards on 19 carries. Against LC, the Bengals paired up for 274 yards on 35 attempts.

“They played extremely well in the second half,” Dougherty said of the Vikings’ defense. “They took us out of our run game. They did a good job stuffing us.”

The Vikings’ first-string defense has allowed just 32 points since Borah put up 53 in CdA’s lone loss (53-35) last month.

“And that is a good offense they just stopped,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said of Lewiston.

Just moments before Ah-Hi’s final TD – which he broke for 53 yards – he told guard Brian Oliver to watch for a cutback block.

“I had to break one and the cutback lanes were there all night,” Ah-Hi said. “Before the (TD run) I told Brian Oliver to look for the cutback and it was there. The whole offensive line just blocked well, which makes me look good.”

The TD gave CdA a 44-13 lead with 11:17 remaining. Both teams scored one more TD.

Now the Vikings want to play one more game at home. To do that, they must beat LC next week.

“It’s going to take another defensive effort like we had because obviously Lake City can put points on the scoreboard also,” Amos said. “Offensively, if we take care of the ball we can score points. The only time we’ve had trouble is when we turn the ball over, and we don’t do that often.”

Ah-Hi was pleased with his game. More important, he said he felt the best he has since a knee injury in the Vikings’ second game of the year that forced him to sit out a game.

“It’s just good to be back. I’m finally 100 percent,” Ah-Hi said. “The offensive line is making me look good. I couldn’t be prouder of them. I was just being a little more patient in the second half.”

Ah-Hi is looking forward to both games against LC.

“There’s nothing better than playing Lake City,” Ah-Hi said. “There’s the rivalry and the respect. Our goal is to get to the next level and to do that we have to get past Lake City. I’m looking forward to it.”

Dougherty was asked which team is better – CdA or LC.

“I don’t know, but (CdA) has the best player,” Dougherty said, alluding to Ah-Hi.