After an away game loss to Post Falls on Aug. 30, the Bengals were back home Sept. 5 and looking to get a win.
At the Lewiston vs. Coeur d’Alene game on Sept. 5, Junior Class President Jackson Grossman predicted the upcoming score.
“Obviously, the Bengals are going to win 127-2,” Grossman said.
While this was a pretty far stretch he did get one part right: the Bengals beat the Vikings 13-6.
The game was deadlocked at 0-0 until the 8-minute mark in the fourth quarter when the drought was broken by an astonishing string of plays by both sides.
The Vikings scored first by punching down the field and fighting into the endzone for a touchdown. However, the Bengals put enough pressure on the kicker to cause a missed extra-point attempt. This made the score 0-6, Vikings ahead.
At this point, many people were slightly discouraged that the score would stay static this late in the game. But on the kick from the Vikings to the Bengals after their touchdown, the Bengals got a miracle.
Bengals kick returner, #6 Nathan King, charged down the field like a one-man army and ran it into the endzone. This caused the crowd and players to erupt with cheers, and that energy carried through the remainder of the game. The crowd was hooting, hollering, and stomping.
After that the Bengals made their extra point attempt, creating a score of 7-6 with only 7 minutes left in the game.
The Vikings tried to push back to the endzone but were stopped short by the Bengals’ defense, giving the Bengals the ball. Junior Quarterback Mason Way created magic with the ball, marching back to the endzone and eventually running it into the endzone himself on a QB Sneak. This put the score at 13-6.
The Bengals attempted a daring 2-point conversion using a field goal attempt as a diversion. However, the Bengals could not let the pass off before being smothered by a flurry of white Vikings jerseys.
With only 4 minutes left in the game, the Vikings received the ball and were trying to make something happen. At 2 minutes left they took a deep shot and the ball was expertly intercepted by the Bengals.
After the interception, the home crowd went wild. Fans were lined up at the gate, cheering and ready to storm the field as soon as the clock struck zero.
The Bengals proceeded to run the clock down and at this point, the entire student section crashed through the gate. Bengal fans ran with the team to the back of the endzone, cheering the whole way down. The final score was a 13-6 Bengals victory.
At the game, students shared their school spirit and what they expect to see for the rest of this season.
Senior Ali Van Mullen helped lead the student section in cheers.
“My favorite parts of coming to these games are cheering my heart out, dressing to our themes, and having a great time with all of my friends,” Van Mullen said.“I look forward to Battle of the Bridges so I can watch the Bengals kick some Bantam butt!”
Along with Van Mullen, the front row had a block rocker speaker to turn it up a notch, electrifying the crowd.
“The game was so fun,” Senior Cheerleader Savannah Swallow said. “The craziest part was definitely when we scored a touchdown after the kickoff — it was insane. I’m looking forward to cheer at more football games to throw some more crazy stunts, and hopefully see the Bengals win some more games!”
Overall, the students displayed an immense amount of school spirit and fiercely supported their home team. Many said they look forward to showing up and showing out the games in the future.
