EPHRATA — Ephrata scored twice in the first quarter of its season opener Friday at Kiwanis Field, both times off turnovers forced by the defense. The Tigers didn't reach the end zone again until the fourth quarter.

Selah — voted second in the Central Washington Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll — rolled to a 48-20 win over the host Tigers.

The visiting Vikings were paced by by junior QB Jerrid Scribner, who completed 17-of-20 passes for 186 yards and four touchdowns, and four TDs from senior running back Calen Wuitschick, including an 80-yard run.

All told, the Vikings finished with 526 yards in total offense while their defense limited Ephrata to 152 yards on offense, with quarterback Cooper Vasquez completing 6-of-19 passes for 76 yards through the air.

"Playing from behind most of the night, we got out of our game plan early. But I was proud of the way we finished," Ephrata head coach Patrick Mitchell said afterward.

For the Tigers, senior Carson Andrus ran eight times for 48 yards and a touchdown, and junior Chance Lee added 34 yards on 10 carries. Senior Mitch Morford caught three passes for 25 yards, sophomore Jake Ayers two for 20, and junior Caleb Newton one for 33.

Ephrata's defense forced three turnovers. Mitchell said they came from something the Tigers have been working on.

"Defensively, our emphasis on takeaways led to three big turnovers with a scoop and near-score (from) Benson Bair, a pick six by Caleb Newton, and a fumble recovery by Jake Ayers," he said.

However, Selah ran for more than 300 yards and converted 9 of 11 third downs.

"We have to work on our pursuit angles and our open field tackling," Mitchell said.

Selah led 14-0 before the Tigers had a first down, on an 18-yard scoring pass from Scribner to Hayden Nelson-Hawkins and a 19-yarder to Wuitschick.

But Bair created an early opportunity to get Ephrata on the board. After Selah took over on an interception at its own 32, the 6-foot-6 senior defensive end ran down a scrambling Scribner to force a fumble, then scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the Selah 3. Two plays later Vasquez punched it in on a 2-yard plunge. The two-point conversion try failed, and Selah led 14-6.

Wuitschick answered with his 80-yard touchdown run, and Selah then recovered an onside kick at the Ephrata 42. But Newton responded to stall the Viking momentum. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound cornerback jumped in front of a Scribner throw at the 35 and returned it 65 yards to the end zone. Still, the Tigers trailed 21-12 after one quarter.

Selah scored three times in the second period to take a 42-12 halftime lead, and Wuitschick's 4-yard run in the third made it 48-12. The Vikings missed the extra point, their only miss in seven PAT attempts.

A promising Tiger drive straddled the end of the third quarter. Newton returned the kickoff 14 yards to the Ephrata 27, then Vasquez hit 6-foot-6 tight end Ayers for 7 and 13 yards for first downs. On third-and-10 from midfield, Vasquez threw 33 yards to Newton to advance to the Selah 16. But a high snap pushed the Tigers back to the 30 and their drive stalled on downs at the 15.

In the fourth quarter, Ephrata’s defense forced a Selah punt that only traveled four yards before going out of bounds and the Tigers took over at the Selah 45. Andrus broke free for a 13-yard run, then ran a third-and-10 handoff for a 23-yard gain, setting the Tigers up for first-and-goal. Andrus scored on the next play, then ran in the ensuing two-point conversion.

The Tigers did not attempt a PAT kick following their trio of touchdowns — Mitchell said going for two was "part of the game plan for the first game."

Friday's outcome flipped last season's matchup when Ephrata defeated Selah 23-16, a loss that bumped the Tigers one place ahead of the Vikings in CWAC final standings.

Elsewhere around the CWAC over the weekend: Prosser, the preseason favorite, opened with a 49-0 win at Quincy; Othello blanked visiting Ellensburg 24-0; and Toppenish beat Grandview 56-7 at home. East Valley (Yakima) opened with a 49-14 non-league win at 4A Davis.

Looking ahead this week, Ephrata (0-1) travels to Yakima for a matchup with East Valley (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11. In other matchups, Ellensburg (0-1) travels to Grandview (0-1) and Othello (1-0) is at Prosser (1-0) on Thursday. Friday Quincy (0-1) is at Selah (1-0). Toppenish (1-0) plays at 4A Davis (0-1) in a Saturday afternoon contest.