It was a euphoric scene at Lewiston High School’s P1FCU Sports Complex on Friday after Gage Steiner made a critical interception with less than a minute left and the Bengals ran down the clock for a 33-28 come-from-behind upset over the visiting Cougars of Bothell, Wash.

“That’s a really good football team we just beat,” said Lewiston coach Zane Hobart, who took over as headman at his alma mater heading into this season after guiding the Kendrick Tigers to four straight small-school state titles. “We had a great week of practice heading into this game, and it’s a game I really thought we could go win.”

Lewiston (2-3) led narrowly at 6-0 and 15-14 through each of the first two quarters, but fell into a two-touchdown 28-15 hole in the third as quarterback Cyion Soeum went on a tear for Bothell (2-1).

A pair of fourth-quarter passing plays from Dallas Richardson to Michael Earl brought the Bengals back within a point at 28-27. DJ Wilkerson produced the go-ahead run with about five minutes left to play.

Earl also kicked a 40-yard field goal late in the second quarter to give the Bengals the halftime lead.

Making his second career start, sophomore quarterback Richardson had a breakout showing for the Bengals, passing 16-for-24 total 270 yards and four touchdowns.

“Really proud of him,” Hobart said of Richardson, who suffered a mid-game injury, but taped it up and carried on. “I think he stepped up in a way that was over a sophomore-type level — especially mentally.”

As a team, Lewiston totaled a season-high 447 total yards of offense, including 328 through the air and 119 on the ground. Hobart also noted that the Bengals’ offensive line “played a heck of a football game tonight for Dallas to be able to deliver the football.”

The result avenged a 38-10 defeat the Bengals suffered as visitors at Bothell last season. The Cougars are a top-10 ranked team in Washington Class 4A, where they reached the final as recently as 2023.

“I thought we had a lot of guys really step up into roles,” Hobart said. “It was a total team effort, both offensively, defensively — and getting some guys into the game after some injuries. It was a team win.”

Bothell 0 14 14 0—28