Ephrata rolls past Grandview on homecoming night

The Tigers kept their postseason hopes alive last Friday night with a statement victory in a must win game against Grandview. It was homecoming night in Ephrata and the grandstands were packed full of screaming fans, the band provided the cadence to the events playing out on the field below and the homecoming court rode in vintage cars while giving beauty pageant waves.

The night had all the makings of a great Friday night to send the Tiger's senior players out in class. With the electric atmosphere in their home stadium, the Tigers came out firing on all cylinders with one of their best starts of the season, jumping out to a 28-0 lead by half, en route to a 62-18 final

Just over two minutes into the first quarter of play, sophomore Tyler Lutz capped off a strong drive by the Tigers with a five yard touchdown run and Dalton Johnson added the extra point to put Ephrata up 7-0 on the first score of the game. After a back and forth sequence, the Tigers took another bite out of Grandview's confidence as running back Dalton Balentine broke a 30 yard run for a touchdown at the end of the first quarter and Johnson tacked on the extra point, putting Ephrata up 14-0 after one quarter.

"Being able to run the ball inside was key and I was really happy with how patient Dalton (Balentine) was running the ball. We made some blocking adjustments at the half and that opened up some runs to the outside for us." head coach Jay Mills said.

The second quarter was more of the same for the Tigers. With just over nine minutes left in the second quarter, Balentine took a handoff and ran 17 yards through the Greyhound defense for his second touchdown and Johnson remained perfect hitting another extra point to put his team up three scores. Just three minutes later the Tigers had the ball back and were driving again when Balentine punched in a seven yard touchdown run and Johnson again hit the extra point. With three straight scores by the duo, it was beginning to feel like the film groundhogs day for the Hounds, watching Balentine and Johnson hit a remarkable scoring stride for the Tigers and putting them up 28-0 by halftime.

With the offense on a roll going into the half, the Tigers defense was equally as impressive, holding Grandview scoreless through the first half and controlling the time of possession and line of scrimmage battles.

"Our entire linebacking core and our defensive line, especially Jake Laird and Tryrus Kemp stepped up and played great on Friday and really allowed us to control the line of scrimmage and winning the battle up front really set the tone for the game." Mills said.

With a four score lead the Tigers came out of the locker room for the second half confident, but still determined to put the game out of reach, knowing that every game is a must win if they hope to make a playoff run. With just over three minutes ticked off the game-clock in the second half, Balentine struck again by punching in a 2 yard touchdown run followed by Johnson's subsequent extra point, making the score 35-0 early in the second half.

If that score didn't seal the Greyhound's fate, the next possession did. As they attempted to mount their comeback, Dalton Johnson intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown of his own, adding to his spectacular kicking performance and all but putting the game on ice for the Tigers.

"Our defensive speed was great on Friday and it led to big plays that turned into scores and helped us put the game away late. I was really pleased with how our defense as a whole." Mills said.

Grandview kept battling, but on their next possession following the interception returned for a touchdown, lighting struck again and Cameron Ball intercepted another Grandview pass at the Tigers 48 yard line and take it 52 yards to the house for another pick six touchdown. With a 49-0 lead after three quarters of play, The Tigers spread around the playing time in the fourth quarter and allowed some of the underclassmen to get some all-important varsity minutes.

The Greyhounds outscored the Tigers 18-13 in the final quarter of play, but it was be too little, too late and Ephrata would prevailed as the victor by a final score of 62-18, improving to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in league play.

For Ephrata it was the statement win on homecoming night they were hoping for with their two most difficult challenges lying in wait, as they will hit the road to take on Prosser and West Valley in must win games against top CWAC competition to end the season.

"Since we lost to Othello we have been in must win mode and the guys have responded each week. With these last two games, we need to be focused the moment we step off the bus and I think we will be prepared." Mills said.

The Tigers should feel good about their chances after Friday, as they played one of their best defensive games of the season, making big plays and scoring twice on interception returns. More importantly, they played to their strengths and ran the ball effectively all night long, tallying 324 yards on the ground and scoring 7 rushing touchdowns.

Leading the charge was Dalton Balentine with 137 yards on 14 carries, for an average yards per carry near 10 and four big touchdowns. In addition to Balentine's monster game, Tyler Lutz added 59 yards rushing and a touchdown, while Tyson Martin, Drew Clark and Chance Flanigan all rushed for over 20 yards as well.

"Physically were in a really good place, everyone is healthy. Mentally we need to prepare how we do each week and show up Friday night and play our best football. Our kids have to go in knowing they can play well and know they can win. Confidence will be key for us to win these last two games," Mills said.