The Lava Bears were going for the win — not a tie and a possible overtime.

With his team trailing Ridgeview 21-20, Bend High’s Cole Rixe scampered into the end zone on a two-point conversion to give the Lava Bears a 22-21 lead with less than three minutes left against Ridgeview on Friday night.

Moments later, Cohl Johnston intercepted a Brett Blundell pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to give No. 4 Bend a nail-biting 28-21 Intermountain Conference football victory at Bend’s Punk Hunnell Stadium.

“It was a big play,” Johnston said afterward of his interception. “Something big had to happen. The chips were down so we needed a win. He (Blundell) was keying on my receiver. I just looked for it and then I got the pick.”

The Ravens had one more chance after blocking the extra-point attempt that followed Johnston’s touchdown, but Bend’s Chance Beutler iced the win with another interception.

Trailing 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter, the Bears went with a heavy dose of Rixe, giving him the ball on seven straight plays before he scored on a 4-yard TD run then added the two-point conversion.

“Our kids just believed,” said Bend coach Matt Craven. “They just didn’t give up. They were excited to go for two there at the end and have a chance to finish the game with US deciding the way it went, instead of maybe getting bled out by their (Ridgeview’s) offense.”

Still smarting from a 40-7 drubbing by Redmond last week, Bend (1-1 IMC, 5-1 overall) needed a victory to bounce back from such a deflating loss.

Rixe finished with 170 yards rushing on 24 carries and two touchdowns, but Ridgeview’s Brett Yeakey was also unstoppable, carrying the ball 31 times for 212 yards and a touchdown behind the Ravens’ beefy offensive line. Logan Green added 62 yards on 11 carries for Ridgeview (0-1 IMC, 3-3 overall).

“High school kids have a short memory, and this team came out and worked really hard, and prepared,” Craven said of Bend. “Ridgeview played well, and we knew it was going to be a slugfest. They were absolutely gargantuan on the offensive line. They stick with giving the ball to (Yeakey) as many times as they can. We just tried to stay the course. I kind of had the feeling it would come down to a last drive, and it did.”

Bend started the game with a bang, as Johnston returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. He found an opening up the middle, darted to the right sideline, then sprinted all the way to the end zone to give the Lava Bears the early 7-0 lead.

“We had to make a statement early, and that was probably the best way we could have done it as a team,” Johnston said of his opening kickoff return.

Ridgeview chewed up eight minutes on its opening drive, relying heavily on its running game until Blundell found Seth Whitley open over the middle of the field for a 20-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-10 play. The TD tied the game 7-7 with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

After the Lava Bears punted on their ensuing possession, Bend’s Kaleb Wyngarden intercepted a Blundell pass near midfield after it was deflected twice.

The Bears used the good field position to their advantage, eventually scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run by Rixe, who barreled up the middle, then bounced off three Ridgeview defenders and into the end zone to make it 14-7 Bend midway through the second quarter.

The Ravens did not need long to answer, as Yeakey found a huge hole on a 59-yard TD run to tie the score 14-14, which it remained at halftime.

Neither team managed to score in the third period, setting the stage for the thrilling fourth quarter.

“This was huge for us,” Johnston said of the win. “We really showed some chemistry. We just had to forget about the last game and move on to the next. That’s all we needed to do. We just kept playing hard and never gave up. We played till the end of the game.”

Bend hosts Liberty of Hillsboro in a nonconference game next Friday, while Ridgeview hosts Summit.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com