LEWISTON — This is a rivalry high school soccer week for both Lewiston and Mt. Ararat.

The Eagles take on Brunswick Friday night, while the Blue Devils defeated “Battle of the Bridge” nemesis Edward Little on Tuesday in their opener.

Mt. Ararat and Lewiston have developed an intense rivalry when facing each other during the past couple years as well, and the latest battle, a 3-1 Blue Devils victory at Don Roux Field on Wednesday, showcased two talented teams battling tooth-and-nail.

In all, four yellow cards were handed out, but Lewiston (2-0) showed its skill and speed, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first half and playing the Eagles (1-1) evenly in the second.

“After playing (Tuesday) night, I didn’t know how we were going to react, if they were tired, but we reacted very well, and getting two goals in the first half was really big,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw, whose squad is scheduled to host Lawrence on Saturday. “It’s a real battle with Mt. Ararat every time, and the kids enjoy playing against them and stepping up to the competition.”

Lewiston struck just 3:43 into the game when Abdi Shariff-Hassan stole an Eagles clear attempt and drove a shot past Mt. Ararat goaltender Gabe Pelletier for a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Devils kept coming, pinning Mt. Ararat in its defensive zone throughout the opening 40 minutes.

The hard work paid off, with Lewiston doubling its lead when Hassan Hussein took a pass from game-long standout Yusuf Yama and chipped a shot perfectly over the fingertips of Pelletier with 15:32 remaining in the first half.

“We did what we were supposed to do and followed the instructions from our coach,” said Yama after helping Lewiston dominate territorially, outshooting Mt. Ararat 15-2 in the first half and holding a 4-0 edge in corner kicks. “Those guys are good and talented, and we are just happy to win this game. I can’t predict how good we will do, but when we are doing what we are supposed to do, we can be pretty good.”

“He has a huge heart, and he can control the game, and along with Abdibaari (Hersi), he is a nice complement,” McGraw said.

The duo combined to make it a 3-0 game at 8:10 of the second half. Hersi sent the ball through to Yama, who darted past two Mt. Ararat defenders before calmly beating Pelletier one-on-one.

“When you combine the two, like Abdibaari sending the ball to Yusuf, it is a pretty thing to see,” McGraw said.

“They are very good, but when you don’t come ready to play, this happens,” Mt. Ararat coach Rick Renaud said. “We have to put this one behind us, but unfortunately, we have done this for three years. Sometimes we come to play and sometimes we don’t. Tonight we didn’t.”

“We didn’t play up to our ability, and there is no excuse,” said Pelletier, who had 10 saves. “Lewiston has speed up the middle and good foot skills. We kept our heads up and worked as hard as we could in the second half, but I would love to see that in the entire game. We have to move on and go to work against Brunswick on Friday.”

Mt. Ararat made things interesting in the final 20 minutes. Will Hirnak finished off a nice throw-in from Brian Johnson, beating Lewiston netminder Eric Soucy (nine saves) with 19:10 remaining.

And, with McGraw trying to reinsert six of his starters, the Eagles kept coming, with Soucy stopping Alex LaPierre and Hirnak within a 30-second span to keep the Blue Devils up by two.

“The kids had to see what it is like to be in a game like that, and see that this was not a scrimmage,” said McGraw. “It could have been a 3-2 game very easily. We gave them opportunities in the second half. We have to learn from that and realize a team like Mt. Ararat can come back.”

Soucy’s big boots forced Mt. Ararat to travel the entire field, with Lewiston defenders Lucas Schulze, Aden Issack, Doud Idow and Shuab Naji providing support.

Lewiston finished with a 23-12 shot advantage, and held a commanding 7-0 edge in corner kicks.