Tigers get back on track with win over Toppenish

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers (4-3) earned a 28-0 victory at home against Toppenish on Friday evening. The Tigers hold their fifth-place standing in the Central Washington Athletic Conference and look to improve their record in the final two weeks of the regular season. 

“I think the kids were super excited to play in front of a great homecoming crowd and went out there with the mentality to get after Toppenish from the first drive,” said Tigers head coach Patrick Mitchell. 

The Tigers set the tone for the game by scoring on their first drive with a run from Carson Andrus. They would follow this in the same quarter when Brady Hendrick would connect a pass to Mitchell Morford for a touchdown to put themselves up 14-0 over Toppenish. 

Neither team would score in the second and third quarters of the game, but Andrus and Jacob Reyes would both make touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. After holding Toppenish scoreless for the duration of the game, the Tigers would win 28-0. 

Mitchell said he was very impressed with the Tigers’ defensive performance Friday. In their victory, Braiden Baltz intercepted the ball twice, and Morford snagged one. 

“The defense played lights out,” he said. “Anytime you can shut somebody out, it’s a great job by your defense.” 

The Tigers had prepared diligently on all sides of the ball leading up to this game. Mitchell said the team adhered to the game plan they had devised during preparation for the matchup, which ultimately led to their success. 

This victory also allows the Tigers to hold their spot in the top five of the CWAC, which gives them a good position for postseason contention, he said. The team will continue to take the season one week at a time and focus on controlling what’s within their hands. 

Mitchell said this week will be another great week of practice as they work with their scout team to help prepare the varsity for their next opponent. The Tigers have also been seeing more of the younger players stepping up since last week, which has helped prep the team further for the final stretch before the postseason. 

“The goal is we want to finish more drives offensively and defensively than we did last week,” he said. “We did well, but we want to continually improve and get better.” 

The Tigers’ next game will be on the road against Selah on Friday at 7 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

EPHR: 14-0-14-0: 28
TOPP: 0-0-0-0: 0 

    Tigers kicker Caleb Moberg, filling in for quarterback, stands behind center Gabriel Mack during the final quarter of a previous game this season. Head coach Patrick Mitchell said the Tigers had been preparing diligently in these last few weeks for the games ahead.
  

    Tigers senior Calvin Lybbert (11) wraps himself around a player from Ellensburg while Tigers junior Own Fitch (87) closes in to secure the defensive stop earlier this season. The Tigers had a successful defensive game against Toppenish securing three interceptions and holding their opponent scoreless.