Tigers take the W

EPHRATA — An exciting second half came down to the wire in Friday night’s Central Washington Athletic Conference matchup between Ephrata and previously undefeated East Valley (Yakima), with the Tigers answering a late Red Devil touchdown to take a 21-17 win.

“East Valley is a great team, and it was going to take everything that we had,” Ephrata head coach Patrick Mitchell said. “We’ve been through some adversity this year, and that’s only stuff that makes it stronger. There’s going to be an adverse atmosphere at some point and time, and we’re going to be ready for it.”

After Ephrata took the lead on a two-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Brady Hendrick with 10:45 remaining in the final frame, East Valley answered and took a 17-14 lead with 4:45 remaining in the fourth quarter after a 69-yard touchdown drive. With the ball on their own 35-yard line, the Tiger offense had 65 yards between them and the end zone.

“We have a lot of younger guys on our team, so I’m just asking them (to) give it your all,” senior tight end Eric O’Neel said. “That’s all I ask for. If you’re not doing it for yourself, do it for your teammates beside you.”

Facing a third-and-seven, Hendrick hit junior receiver Llandon Ahmann for a six-yard gain, and the Tigers converted for a first down on the next play on a 6-yard run by Hendrick. A 15-yard carry by O’Neel set the Tigers up on the East Valley 33-yard line, and Hendrick ran 23 yards on the next play to put Ephrata within 11 yards of the end zone.

O’Neel scampered into the end zone on an 11-yard run on the next play. Mitchell said the Tigers had been working on a package to have the senior tight end carry the ball out of the backfield.

“The hard part at tight end is catching the ball, and then the fun part is running with it,” O’Neel said. “(When carrying the ball) That’s already half of the job done, now it’s just running.”

East Valley had a chance to take the lead with 1:41 remaining, but Hendrick intercepted a pass on fourth down to seal the game in Ephrata’s favor.

“I was really ready for this game, I was excited all week,” Hendrick said. “Getting that pick was the final icing on the cake.”

Friday’s game remained tied at zero for the first 23 minutes, but the Tigers scored first on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hendrick to Ahmann in the right corner of the end zone. The 12-play, 83-yard touchdown-scoring drive Ephrata a 7-0 lead at the break.

“That was a great drive and I was just happy that we were able to convert it,” Hendrick said. “Llandon (Ahmann) had a great play, ran a perfect route. The route was there, it was just perfectly executed by everybody.”

The Tiger defense held firm in the first three quarters, forcing two fourth-down stops and an interception by senior Walker Fulk, who dove to the ground to secure a pass that tipped off the hands of an East Valley receiver early in the third quarter.

“When you’re stopping them on defense and it’s a 7-0 game, you know you can compete with them and it’s going to be a long game,” O’Neel said. “Whoever lets go first is going to lose.”

East Valley returned the favor after Fulk’s interception, returning an interception for a touchdown for the first Red Devil score of the night and tying the game at seven. The Tiger offense failed to convert a fourth down on the East Valley 40-yard line, and the Red Devils drove down the field to take the lead on a 25-yard field goal.

Ephrata’s offense got moving after East Valley’s first lead of the night, putting together a six-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Hendrick’s two-yard touchdown. Two plays by O’Neel accounted for 57 yards on the drive; a 33-yard catch-and-run and a 25-yard carry, where the senior tight end bulldozed through multiple East Valley defenders on both plays.

“When somebody’s breaking tackles it ignites everybody,” Mitchell said. “It’s awesome, it’s one of the greatest things in football. When you’ve got a guy like that and you can hand the ball to him – he’s a special player.”

Ephrata improved to 3-1 with the win, as well as 2-0 in the CWAC. Up next for the Tigers is a road trip to Cashmere on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff in the team's final non-league game of the season.

“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing in practice and preparation,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got a great old-school rivalry with Cashmere coming up next week, and I told the kids that that’s another opportunity for us to play a playoff-caliber team and to get better. We want those challenges because we’ve got some high goals that we want to get to.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box score

EVY: 0-0-10-7 14

EPH: 0-7-0-14 21