EPHRATA — Ephrata rolled down the field in 10 plays and had the ball at the Othello 10 with seven minutes left and a chance to take the lead. The field goal was blocked, and despite one last possession, the Tigers lost 14-13 to Othello on Friday, Sept. 25 at Kiwanis Field.

It was a frustrating finish for the Tigers (1-3), who outgained the Huskies 290-190 in offensive yards and ran 62 plays to Othello's 49. But they were flagged 10 times for 56 penalty yards, missed an extra point on a bobbled PAT snap, and gave up a 34-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter that resulted in the go-ahead score.

With the win, Othello improved its season record to 3-2, 2-2 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play.

"We have to work on our technique and discipline, and sometimes more calls go against you than the other team. We have to overcome those circumstances and control what we can control," Ephrata head coach Patrick Mitchell said afterward.

Offensively for the Tigers, junior QB Cooper Vasquez ran for 102 yards on nine carries, including a 64-yard touchdown on the second play of the game, and completed 10 of 22 passes for 106 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Junior Chance Lee ran 10 times for 42 yards and caught two passes for 25 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown catch. Senior Carson Andrus had 10 carries for 36 yards, and senior Mitch Morford caught four passes for 36.

Senior Owen Fitch led Ephrata's defense with eight tackles, three of them for loss. Senior Cooper Kriete had a sack, junior Tucker Simmons had two tackles for loss and Andrus had four tackles.

"Our defense played great all night, only had a few plays with some breakdowns," Mitchell said. "Owen Fitch, Carson Andrus, Cooper Kriete, Tucker Simmons, Ty Plaisted and Chance Lee all made some big plays on defense."

Othello junior quarterback Noah Ozuna ran 16 times for 100 yards and completed only 1 of 5 passes, but it was one that counted — the 34-yard touchdown strike to senior Armoni Zuniga-Mendez. The Huskies ran for 156 yards on the night.

Ephrata's first possession started at its own 20 after a sideline interference penalty on the kickoff return. Lee ran 16 yards, then Vasquez broke free on the next play for his 64-yard TD run. Junior Yahizee Alvarado's point-after kick made it 7-0.

On their initial possession, Othello answered with a 36-yard touchdown run by junior Cain Gonzales to tie the score after one quarter.

Ephrata's second touchdown drive took 15 plays and extended into the second quarter. Vasquez threw 22 yards to sophomore Levi Wilson to the Othello 41, Andrus ran 8 yards to the 18, and Vasquez found Lee in the end zone for the 15-yard scoring pass. The snap on the extra point was mishandled, but the Tigers went ahead 13-7 before halftime.

Othello took the lead on its second possession of the third period when Ozuna threw 34 yards to Zuniga-Mendez. The kick gave the Huskies the lead at 14-13.

Ephrata's chance came in the fourth quarter. Junior Caleb Newton returned a punt 15 yards to the Tiger 48, Vasquez hit Morford with a 12-yard completion, and Andrus ran 21 yards to the Huskie 14. The drive sputtered when Lee lost a yard and Vasquez was sacked, but followed with a gain of 8 to the 10-yard line. From there, the Tigers lined up for a 28-yard field goal attempt.

Huskie linebacker Miguel Sandoval played spoiler when he broke through the Tigers' line and blocked the attempt. Teammate Isaac Roylance recovered the ball at the Othello 25 with seven minutes left.

The Huskies moved toward midfield where Ozuna broke free on a third-and-three play and ran 46 yards before Newton chased him down at the Ephrata 12. That touchdown-saving tackle set up Ephrata's ensuing goal-line defensive stand.

The Huskies ran four consecutive times from the 7, but only advanced to the 3-yard line where they were stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play. Fitch, Simmons and Andrus each produced big tackles for the Tigers, who took over on downs with 1:51 left to play.

Mitchell said the defensive line held up against a bigger Othello front.

"They had to take on double teams and hold the line for us all night, giving our backers and safeties the ability to get more tackles," he said. "There were a lot of selfless plays from them up front and they kept grinding and playing gritty defense."

The "huge goal line stand at the end," Mitchell continued, was a credit to Caleb Newton "(who) set that up by running down and tackling (Ozuna) and giving us the chance we needed."

The Tiger offense had one final opportunity. Vasquez ran 11 yards and threw 11 to Wilson, but two holding penalties pushed Ephrata back to fourth-and-30 from the 18. Vasquez's long pass was intercepted at the Othello 49 with 40 seconds left, enabling the Huskies to run out the clock.

Next up: Ephrata travels to Grandview at 7 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 2. The Greyhounds (1-3) lost 63-14 at Selah last Friday.

"Looking to get back on track with our offense and special teams this week, with more of a disciplined approach," Mitchell said.