EPHRATA — Ephrata's playoff hopes ended last Thursday night, first on Kiwanis Field, then in Othello.

Prosser beat the Tigers 34-7 on Oct. 29 to finish an unbeaten run through the Central Washington Athletic Conference, and Othello beat Toppenish 34-28 in overtime the same night to take the league's fourth and final "Round of 32" spot. The Tigers needed a Toppenish win to force a three-way tiebreaker between the Wildcats, Ephrata and Othello for a postseason berth.

Instead, the Tigers finished 4-4 and fifth in the CWAC. They will close the season with a consolation finale at home against Clarkston (2-6) at 6 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 6.

Against undefeated Prosser, sophomore Cannon DeLong started at quarterback in place of junior Cooper Vasquez, sidelined by injury, and completed 20 of 33 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown.

The Tigers were first on the scoreboard with 2:48 left in the first quarter, successfully converting on fourth-and-goal from the Prosser 6 when DeLong hit sophomore Jake Ayers in the end zone. Junior Yahizee Alvarado's PAT kick made it 7-0.

Ephrata has gambled on fourth-down attempts 39 times this season, averaging more than four per game, and converted 14.

But Prosser answered on its next possession less than two minutes later when junior QB Daniel Diaz connected with junior receiver Brody Buxton for a 37-yard touchdown strike to tie it 7-7. Then, on the first play of the second quarter, Diaz hit Buxton on a short pass that he turned into a 41-yard touchdown and a 14-7 Prosser lead.

Later in the period, junior defender Nate Krautscheid intercepted Diaz and Ephrata advanced the ball deep into Prosser territory after DeLong found junior EZ Chavez-Mabry on a 30-yard pass to the Mustang 24. However, the drive stalled at the 21 when the Tigers went for it on fourth down but came up short.

Prosser took over with two minutes left in the half and drove to the Ephrata 10 but couldn't finish either, stopped on fourth down by the Tigers' defense just before intermission.

The Mustangs quickly expanded their lead in the third period when junior running back Autry Hoefer broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run. Later in the quarter, he scored again on a 25-yard burst. In the fourth, Diaz concluded the scoring with his third touchdown pass, a 22-yarder to Buxton.

For the night, Diaz completed 17 of 25 passes for 271 yards. Prosser (8-0 CWAC, 9-0) converted just one of eight third-down attempts but found success on big plays for many of its yards.

Ephrata was 2-for-11 on third-down tries, penalized eight times for 71 yards, and struggled to run the ball — the Tigers finished with 11 rushing yards on 33 carries. Despite being sacked five times, DeLong threw the ball well. Senior receiver Mitch Morford was a primary target, catching eight passes for 105 yards, his third 100-yard game of the season. Junior running back Chance Lee caught four passes for 39 yards.

Elsewhere around the CWAC last week: Selah beat East Valley 49-28 to take second place in the league standings at 7-1 and drop the Red Devils to third at 6-2. Othello's overtime win against Toppenish gave the Huskies, 5-3, the fourth playoff berth. Ellensburg got its first win of the season 49-6 at Quincy, and Grandview lost a nonleague game to Rogers of Spokane, 44-14.

Four CWAC teams play in the 2A "Round of 32" competition this weekend. On Friday, East Valley hosts Fife, Selah hosts Black Hills, and Othello plays at West Valley of Spokane; on Saturday, Prosser hosts Ridgefield (3-5).

Along with Ephrata facing Clarkston, other CWAC consolation finales see Grandview hosting Kiona-Benton on Thursday while Toppenish hosts Deer Park and Ellensburg hosts Wapato on Friday.