Ephrata knocks off Ellensburg

Othello 13, East Valley 6; Royal 69, Wahluke 7; Almira/Coulee-Hartline 70, Wellpinit 20; Grandview 31, Quincy 8; Kiona-Benton 32, Warden 6; Reardan 27, Lind-Ritzville 14

Prep football recaps

ELLENSBURG - The Ephrata Tigers put themselves on the 2A state football map a week ago when they knocked off East Valley.

Last Friday, the Tigers made sure everyone knew that win wasn't a fluke, going on the road for a 31-19 victory over the Ellensburg Bulldogs and, in the process, taking over second place in the Central Washington Athletic Conference.

Ephrata ran with persistence and got another solid start from quarterback Eric Tinnell, who took over the reins in the second half against EV after Kory Frank separated his shoulder. Tinnell completed 9 of 16 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

After Ellensburg's Kramer Ferrell put the Bulldogs out front on a 30-yard run, the only points of the first period, Ephrata answered in impressive fashion. A 1-yard Kip Swem run, a 17-yard Eric Hensley field goal, and a 22-yard Tinnell-to-Derrick Webb pass put the Tigers up 17-7 at the break.

Tryston Mann's 4-yard run put the Tigers up 24-7 early in the fourth period, but Wes Ferrell returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a score for Ellensburg. A 2-yard run by Drew Ronning, and suddenly Ellensburg trailed by only five points, 24-19.

Cue defensive back Ryan Hoskins. The Bulldogs got the ball with a chance to take the lead, but the senior Hoskins picked off quarterback Joe Jenkins and went 25 yards for the game-clinching score.

Swem carried 20 times for 128 yards and Mann added 44 yards on eight touches. Ephrata's defense limited Jenkins to 13 of 25 passing for 69 yards.

The Tigers (6-1 overall, 5-1 CWAC) return home this Friday, hosting the Quincy Jackrabbits in the Battle of the Basin. Game time at Kiwanis Field is 7:30 p.m.

Othello 13, East Valley 6

YAKIMA - The Huskies also took a positive step toward securing one of the CWAC's three playoff berths, earning a victory over the Red Devils when David Walker scored from a yard out in the fourth quarter.

Huskie quarterback Marc Garza opened the scoring with a 51-yard burst in the first quarter. But East Valley shut out the Huskies from there and eventually tied the score on field goals of 31 and 32 yards from Cam Muggleston.

Garza completed just 1 of 6 throws for 4 yards, but ran six times for 97. Walker delivered 99 yards on 22 carries. Othello's defense contained EV quarterback Kevin Komstadius, who was only 11 of 31 for 150 yards.

The Huskies (4-3 overall, 4-2 CWAC) host Ellensburg this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Royal 69, Wahluke 7

MATTAWA - The Knights upped their South Central Athletic Conference mark to 5-1, blowing out the Warriors behind a big game from Cash Brown.

Brown, who finished with 117 yards on three carries, scored the game's first points on a 34-yard run. He caught a 13-yard TD pass from Austin Allred to put Royal up 20-0, added a 10-yard run for Royal's next score and a 40-yarder for its final points of the half.

Hector Ledezma, who had 78 yards on seven carries, also scored on a 20-yard run. Quarterback Austin Allred, who finished 6 of 8 for 97 yards, had a 75-yard TD run and threw a 43-yard score to Zach Lewis.

Royal (6-1 overall, 5-1 SCAC) goes out of conference this week, hosting the Davenport Gorillas on Friday at 7 p.m.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline 70, Wellpinit 20

WELLPINIT - In a scheduling oddity, the Warriors defeated the Redskins for the second straight week, winning once again via the 45-point mercy rule for eight-man football.

"We played a solid game all-around on Friday night," ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said. "I felt like we were a bit flat on defense early in the game but the team responded in the second half with two scores on defense."

Quarterback Josh Goodwin was the Warriors' star, completing 11 of 18 throws for 155 yards and four scores, and adding 101 rushing yards on nine carries and another score.

ACH took a 14-0 lead after one quarter as Goodwin hit Kyle Tucker on a 21-yard play and Zach Pryor on a 10-yarder.

The second quarter was a slugfest on both sides of the ball, as each team scored three TDs. Nate West had a 5-yard scoring run, Goodwin hit Tucker on a 15-yard pass and then ran it in himself from 40 yards out.

ACH (6-1 overall) scored four more touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 40-yard interception return by Goodwin and a 70-yarder by Caden Grenier. Grayson Sizemore's 25-yard scamper early in the fourth enacted the mercy rule.

West led the Warriors' defensive effort with 11 tackles. Grenier added eight stops and Goodwin had five.

ACH heads to Curlew this Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

"As we head into the final few weeks of our league season, it's important that we continue to get better so that we can be at our best once we hit the playoffs," Walsh added.

Grandview 31, Quincy 8

QUINCY - The Jackrabbits' offensive woes continued in a CWAC loss to the visiting Greyhounds.

Grandview took a 13-0 lead into the halftime locker room behind Matt Concienne's 9-yard run and Marty Guillen's 5-yarder. The Hounds increased their margin to 24-0 after three quarters on a Mando Madrigal 1-yard plunge and Josue Oros' 32-yard field goal.

Quincy's Kyle Arnall, who caught five passes for 56 yards, put the Jacks on the board in the fourth when he hauled in a 24-yarder from Jesse Gonzales. The junior quarterback struggled, however, completing just 8 of 28 throws for 79 yards and an interception.

Colby Melburn had 16 carries for 83 yards to lead Quincy's ground attack, and added two catches for 27 yards.

Quincy makes the short trip across Highway 28 this Friday, taking on the Ephrata Tigers in the Battle of the Basin at 7:30 p.m.

Kiona-Benton 32, Warden 6

WARDEN - The Bears ruined the Cougars' Homecoming as quarterback Anthony Pace threw for 243 yards and four touchdowns in an SCAC contest.

Pace got things started early by finding T.J. Curtis on a 52-yard play. Ki-Be made it 14-0 after one as Levi Dauenhauer scooped up a blocked field goal attempted and raced 60 yards.

The Bears' lead grew to 22-0 as Pace hit Curtis from 14 yards away. But Warden showed signs of life before halftime as backup quarterback Abraham Mendiola found Artie Reyes for a 35-yard score.

Ki-Be's defense shut out the Cougars from there, and Pace added two more scores - a 4 yard-pass to T.J. Curtis and a 30-yarder to Chris Curtis. Pace completed 21 of his 35 throws, and T.J. Curtis caught 10 for 105 yards.

Arturo Martinez gained 48 yards on six carries for Warden and Robert Pruneda added 47 on 13 carries. Mendiola was 7 of 17 for 142 yards in relief of Scott Phillips, who finished 1 of 10 with five interceptions.

The Cougars play at top-ranked Connell this Friday at 7 p.m.

Reardan 27, Lind-Ritzville 14

REARDAN - The Broncos couldn't have asked for a better start to their Northeast 2B League contest with the Indians as Mike Osborn found Alex Pfeifer on a 43-yard touchdown pass.

But Reardan controlled the rest of the contest, scoring 27 unanswered points en route to a win that gave it sole possession of first place in the league standings.

The Indians out-gained L-R 361-212 and completely took away the Broncos' running game, holding them to 42 yards on 24 carries. Osborn completed 12 of 19 passes for 170 yards, and Pfeifer caught six for 100 yards, but Reardan was also the beneficiary of two interceptions and a fumble.

Reardan trailed 7-6 at halftime, but got a 1-yard from Josh Eldred to take the lead early in the third period. Adam Collins hit Tyler Moos on a 27-yard pass and Chad Godley rolled in from 3 yards out to pad Reardan's cushion. Osborn's 50-yard pass to Pfeifer capped the scoring.

Eldred had 109 yards on 27 carries to lead the Indians, who rushed for 235 on the night.

L-R tries to recover this Friday when it heads to Republic for a 6 p.m. kickoff.