LEWISTON — The Mbele brothers led Lewiston to a 4-0 shutout victory over Edward Little on Friday at Lewiston.

Tegra Mbele finished with three goals and Mechi Mbele scored one for the Blue Devils, who improve to 3-0.

“Tegra is phenomenal. He has that speed and control, and he can finish,” Lewiston coach Dan Gish said. “He is just a special player, and he realizes when he’s getting double teamed and he knows how to distribute, so he’s a very smart player as well.”

Gish said that the Mbeles, both seniors, “read each other’s minds” on the field.

“Mechi’s a little younger than Tegra, but it’s nice to see that chemistry,” Gish said.

Tegra Mbele was first to get the Blue Devils on the board, scoring 14 minutes in to the first half. He found the back of the net again, roughly four minutes later off an assist from Dan Dimandya.

Dimandya took the ball down the right side of the field and drilled a pass dead center to Tegra, who was able to finish the job and give Lewiston a 2-0 lead.

Tegra Mbele, through the translation of teammate Fernando Bengue, said the goal assisted by Dimandya is “something that we’ve always worked on in practice,” and it is the third time the duo has shared a assist-to goal connection this season.

“He’s (Dimandya) passing the ball to him, and he’s finishing, one touch,” Bengue said, translating for Tegra Mbele.

After the goal, Tegra Mbele and Dimandya ran to the left corner to celebrate, meeting teammates there to get the hype going for Lewiston.

“It’s something we did last year, so we wanted to bring it back this year,” Tegra Mbele said through Bengue.

Tegra Mbele added, through Bengue, “It’s a victory that we always wanted, we know that EL is a good team, so we came ready to get the victory.”

Edward Little (0-1-1) coach Max Thompson said the Red Eddies could have trailed by more at halftime, and he complimented the Blue Devils by telling his team, “That’s what a team look like, that plays the right way.”

“I thought we were fortunate to only be down two, and Lewiston’s just a better team,” Thompson. “The gap between the two teams I think is pretty large, so it kind of is what it is.”

Tegra Mbele finished his offensive output with a third goal just shy of 10 minutes in to the second half. This one was assisted by Annimer Ibrahim.

“Guys (on this team), are not selfish,” Gish said. “They like to move the ball and they like to not force it and try and have an organized game. They can defend, which is nice; they like to pressure, but they also understand positioning.”

Tegra Mbele has scored in each of Lewiston’s three games, and has five goals so far this season.

Later in the second half, Mechi Mbele scored on a wide-open shot with 21:05 remaining in the game, off an assist from Bengue. Mechi credited Bengue for the opportunity, saying the setup is something the two have practiced a lot.

“He said the goal happened because of me (Bengue),” Bengue said, translating for Mechi Mbele. “It’s something that we always work on, and I gave him the signal to make the run, so he made the run and I passed to him, and it was just a one-touch finish.”

Bengue and Mbele said they have been friends for a long time, so their on-field connection comes naturally.

Mechi Mbele, through Bengue, credited the shutout to the Blue Devils’ defensive line, which makes it hard for opposing to get shots on goal. Edward Little only had three in Friday’s game.

Edward Little goalie Max Kimball saved 12 of the 16 shots he faced. Thompson said it’s nice to have a goalkeeper who can make stops, but it’s not ideal for him to need to make so many saves and still lose 4-0.

“Obviously, there were a lot of balls that could have been in the back of the net,” Thompson said. “He (Kimball) did a good job saving them, and we’ve just got to find a way to try to limit the number of shots if we can.”

Thompson said Lewiston is “faster, have better skill and they’re better organized,” than the Red Eddies and the missing piece of the equation on Friday was more systemic than a simple defensive or offensive switch.

The Blue Devils’ Class A state championship defense has opened with wins over three traditional A North contenders — Mt. Ararat, Brunswick and Edward Little — and Gish said that opposing teams can expect “us to show up every night.”

“We’re going to give them our best, and we know we’re going to get their best, and we know we have to earn it,” Gish said. “Nothing is given.”