Tigers bounce back in a big way

After opening the season with an emotional victory over Quincy and claiming the Battle of the Basin trophy, the Tigers were dealt a tough loss by Ellensburg, making their record 1-1 going into the third week of the season. After an up and down start to the year, Ephrata had to regain their focus as they once again went on the road, this time to take on East Valley.

Quarterback Evan Brooks wasted no time getting the Tigers back on track, throwing a touchdown pass to Jonnie Green at the 4:42 mark in the first quarter. The Tigers struck first and the defense held strong, not allowing East Valley to score in the first quarter. Brooks continued to lead the Tigers charge throwing his second touchdown pass of the game in the second quarter, this time a 20 yard air strike to Nick Lobe. With just two seconds remaining until the half, Dalton Johnson added a 24 yard field goal, the first of the season for the Tigers. While the Ephrata offense was in rare form on Friday night, it was the Tigers defense shutting East Valley down that seemed to spur the team in the right direction.

"Our defense came up really big. I am so proud of the way our defense played after giving up over 500 yards of offense last week in Ellensburg, these guys came out and responded in a major way. They faced some similar schemes to what Ellensburg ran with a great deal of success. Both schools ran a sort of spread offense, a lot of receivers, and a good passing attack, but our guys stepped up and made big plays and our defensive coordinator Dave Laird had them ready to play." Head Coach Jay Mills said.

The game went back and forth during the third quarter, with a see-saw battle in which neither team put points on the board. Behind continued strong defensive play the Tigers would run away with the game in the fourth quarter, as Nick Lobe and Dalton Balentine both rushed for touchdowns. Balentine had a huge game for the Tigers as the team's work horse carried the all a total of 28 times for 238 yards and a touchdown, while also adding three tackles on defense. It wasn't until the 2:31 mark in the final quarter that East put points on the board, a testament to the bounce-back performance of the Tigers in week three.

"Our corners played much more aggressive this week. When the ball was caught we rallied to it and prevented them from having any real big plays on offense." Mills said.

East Valley's late score to break up the Tiger's shutout made the score 30-6 with just over two minutes left to play and Ephrata would run the clock down making that the final score. The Tigers quarterback Evan Brooks had his best game of the young season going 18-26 passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns, but more importantly he ignited the team to start the game and the defense followed suit in route to the 30-6 victory. Ephrata will return home this Friday to take on Wapato in a contest that will favor the Tigers but with the emotional roller-coaster the season has been thus far, Ephrata will undoubtedly be prepared for Fridays tilt.

"Our main focus now is to continue to improve, specifically our route running and passing game can get sharper. Consistency and building on each week is what we set out to do in practice and get ready for the next challenge." Mills said.