The 2026 Ephrata High School varsity football team. The Tigers were 6-4 last season and return eight starters. The Tigers' first kickoff under Friday night lights is at 7 p.m. Sept. 4. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Vasquez and EHS Tiger Vision.
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers open the 2026 football season at home against Selah at 7 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 4 at Kiwanis Field, jumping right into Central Washington Athletic Conference play.
In 2025, Ephrata finished with a 6-4 overall record and went 5-3 in the CWAC. The Tigers qualified for the postseason but were eliminated by Steilacoom in the Week 10 play-in round. It was their third playoff appearance in the last four seasons.
Head coach Patrick Mitchell said the streak of postseason trips comes from the work put in during the CWAC season.
"Making the postseason three of four seasons is a direct result of the work our players and coaches put into a grueling CWAC season," Mitchell said. "Our goals, standards, and expectations don't change. We believe in reloading, not rebuilding, and I believe that has been a big reason for our success making the postseason."
The Tigers graduated a large 2026 senior class, and Mitchell said their experience and leadership will be missed.
"We had a great group of seniors who made great contributions to our football team and community over the course of their time here," he said. "We will miss their experience and leadership, but they left a great legacy of hard work that I believe they modeled and passed down to our team this season."
The reload may start at quarterback. Following the graduation of Brady Hendrick, last year's signal-caller, junior Cooper Vasquez and sophomore Cannon DeLong have been competing for the QB job this fall.
"We have had a good competition between Cooper Vasquez and Cannon DeLong," Mitchell said. "Both QBs have come a long way from last year. They both impressed in our summer camp at Whitworth University, and each has a unique skill set that will be beneficial for the future of Tiger football."
The Tigers return six players, now seniors, who played key roles last season.
The group includes Owen Fitch, a tight end and linebacker who earned first-team All-CWAC honors on defense. As juniors, wide receiver Mitchell Morford and running back Carson Andrus were both second-team All-CWAC selections on offense and Andrus also started at linebacker. Linemen Benson Bair and Cooper Kriete play at the tackle positions on offense and help anchor the defensive line where Kriete, as a sophomore in 2024, was an All-CWAC honorable-mention selection. Clayton Wolther also returns as a linebacker.
Other returnees include juniors Connor Roth at center and Chance Lee at running back and linebacker.
Mitchell said this group has been waiting its turn.
"This group is hungry, some of them have been waiting a long time for the seniors in front of them to graduate, and they are ready to show what they can do," he said.
Asked which newcomers might make an immediate impact, Mitchell said coyly, "You're going to have to watch us on September 4th at Kiwanis Field to find out."
But the Tiger coach doesn't believe the program's greatest strength relies on individual skill or athleticism.
"Our culture is our greatest strength," he said. "Our focus will be on developing each player in our program to be the best version of themselves, and the best teammates they can possibly be."
The coaching staff has added Jacob Laird, who will work with the offensive and defensive lines. A 2014 EHS graduate, Laird was a first-team 2A All-State selection on offensive and defensive as a senior. He went on to play defensive line at Washington State University and was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
Laird joins a staff that includes assistants David Tempel, Don Williams, Dan Martin, Nick Lobe and David McKeehan, with Derik Burck volunteering.
Ephrata was competitive in a preseason, multi-team test Friday, Aug. 28, at Royal High School. The Tigers lined up against Class 4A schools Wenatchee and Moses Lake plus the host Knights, who have won six consecutive 1A state titles and have an 84-1 record since the start of the 2019 season.
"I thought we did a good job of taking care of the football, and competing with some good 4A teams," Mitchell said.
Tiger offensive and defensive square up at the line of scrimmage during practice this week at Ephrata High School. The Tigers open the season at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4 against Selah at Kiwanis Field. Photo by Casey Devine
Preseason has meant two-a-day practices in the heat. Mitchell said the CWAC's schedule opens with league play and has changed how teams approach August.
"Our league presents the challenge of having to be prepared Week One for a league game, so gone are the days of a non-league game ... being a tune-up," he said.
Asked which CWAC teams he sees as the top competition, Mitchell said, "All of them."
"Each team we face presents a different challenge for us and we take it one game at a time," he said. "The most important game of the season for us right now, is Week One.”
Coaches around the league ranked Ephrata fifth in the CWAC preseason poll released Aug. 27. Prosser, who VarsityWA ranks among the top 25 programs in the state (of any size), was the favorite.
CWAC coaches ranked Selah number-two in the preseason poll, making the Tigers' opener this Friday against the visiting Vikings a true early-season test.
More broadly, Mitchell said community support is a big part of Ephrata's football program — from advertisement sales and fundraisers to the home crowds and faithful fans who travel to road games.
"It's huge," he said. "We love our home crowd's energy, and our road warrior fans who travel with us to support the Tigers wherever the road takes us. At the conclusion of our home games we invite the community down to the field to celebrate with our team, and it has been one of the coolest traditions that we have started."
Varsity Football · 2026-27
Ephrata Tigers Roster
35 players · 11 seniors · 12 juniors · 12 sophomores · Head coach Patrick Mitchell
Name
Pos
Yr
Yahizee Alvarado
WR/K/P/C
11
Damian Alvarez
G/DT
11
Carson Andrus
RB/LB
12
Jake Ayers
TE/DE
10
Benson Bair
OT/DE
12
EZ Chavez-Mabry
WR/S
11
Rowdy Coker
OT/DE
12
Cale Crawford
RB/LB
10
Julien Cuevas
G/DT
10
Cannon DeLong
QB/S
10
Owen Fitch
TE/LB
12
Will Fitch
G/LB
10
Bryson Fleurkens
G/N
10
Jr Garcia
G/DT
10
Niles Johnson
WR/C
10
Krue Judkins
RB/S
10
Kai Kaleohano
WR/LB
11
Nate Krautscheid
RB/S
11
Cooper Kriete
OT/DE
12
Chance Lee
RB/LB
11
Dominick McVay
C/N
12
Lance Melum
WR/C
11
Mitchell Morford
WR/LB
12
Caleb Newton
WR/C
11
Thomas O'Neel
WR/S
12
Easton Ohl
TE/LB
10
Ty Plaisted
WR/S
12
Connor Roth
C/DT
11
Tucker Simmons
TE/DE
11
Trent Taylor
G/LB
10
Cooper Vasquez
QB/C
11
Felix Villa
WR/C
11
Drew Weitzel
—
12
Levi Wilson
WR/C
10
Clayton Wolther
WR/LB
12
Positions listed offense/defense. Yr = grade. Jersey numbers to come.
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Tigers open football season Friday against Selah
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers open the 2026 football season at home against Selah at 7 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 4 at Kiwanis Field, jumping right into Central Washington Athletic Conference play.
In 2025, Ephrata finished with a 6-4 overall record and went 5-3 in the CWAC. The Tigers qualified for the postseason but were eliminated by Steilacoom in the Week 10 play-in round. It was their third playoff appearance in the last four seasons.
Head coach Patrick Mitchell said the streak of postseason trips comes from the work put in during the CWAC season.
"Making the postseason three of four seasons is a direct result of the work our players and coaches put into a grueling CWAC season," Mitchell said. "Our goals, standards, and expectations don't change. We believe in reloading, not rebuilding, and I believe that has been a big reason for our success making the postseason."
The Tigers graduated a large 2026 senior class, and Mitchell said their experience and leadership will be missed.
"We had a great group of seniors who made great contributions to our football team and community over the course of their time here," he said. "We will miss their experience and leadership, but they left a great legacy of hard work that I believe they modeled and passed down to our team this season."
The reload may start at quarterback. Following the graduation of Brady Hendrick, last year's signal-caller, junior Cooper Vasquez and sophomore Cannon DeLong have been competing for the QB job this fall.
"We have had a good competition between Cooper Vasquez and Cannon DeLong," Mitchell said. "Both QBs have come a long way from last year. They both impressed in our summer camp at Whitworth University, and each has a unique skill set that will be beneficial for the future of Tiger football."
The Tigers return six players, now seniors, who played key roles last season.
The group includes Owen Fitch, a tight end and linebacker who earned first-team All-CWAC honors on defense. As juniors, wide receiver Mitchell Morford and running back Carson Andrus were both second-team All-CWAC selections on offense and Andrus also started at linebacker. Linemen Benson Bair and Cooper Kriete play at the tackle positions on offense and help anchor the defensive line where Kriete, as a sophomore in 2024, was an All-CWAC honorable-mention selection. Clayton Wolther also returns as a linebacker.
Other returnees include juniors Connor Roth at center and Chance Lee at running back and linebacker.
Mitchell said this group has been waiting its turn.
"This group is hungry, some of them have been waiting a long time for the seniors in front of them to graduate, and they are ready to show what they can do," he said.
Asked which newcomers might make an immediate impact, Mitchell said coyly, "You're going to have to watch us on September 4th at Kiwanis Field to find out."
But the Tiger coach doesn't believe the program's greatest strength relies on individual skill or athleticism.
"Our culture is our greatest strength," he said. "Our focus will be on developing each player in our program to be the best version of themselves, and the best teammates they can possibly be."
The coaching staff has added Jacob Laird, who will work with the offensive and defensive lines. A 2014 EHS graduate, Laird was a first-team 2A All-State selection on offensive and defensive as a senior. He went on to play defensive line at Washington State University and was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
Laird joins a staff that includes assistants David Tempel, Don Williams, Dan Martin, Nick Lobe and David McKeehan, with Derik Burck volunteering.
Ephrata was competitive in a preseason, multi-team test Friday, Aug. 28, at Royal High School. The Tigers lined up against Class 4A schools Wenatchee and Moses Lake plus the host Knights, who have won six consecutive 1A state titles and have an 84-1 record since the start of the 2019 season.
"I thought we did a good job of taking care of the football, and competing with some good 4A teams," Mitchell said.
Preseason has meant two-a-day practices in the heat. Mitchell said the CWAC's schedule opens with league play and has changed how teams approach August.
"Our league presents the challenge of having to be prepared Week One for a league game, so gone are the days of a non-league game ... being a tune-up," he said.
Asked which CWAC teams he sees as the top competition, Mitchell said, "All of them."
"Each team we face presents a different challenge for us and we take it one game at a time," he said. "The most important game of the season for us right now, is Week One.”
Coaches around the league ranked Ephrata fifth in the CWAC preseason poll released Aug. 27. Prosser, who VarsityWA ranks among the top 25 programs in the state (of any size), was the favorite.
CWAC coaches ranked Selah number-two in the preseason poll, making the Tigers' opener this Friday against the visiting Vikings a true early-season test.
More broadly, Mitchell said community support is a big part of Ephrata's football program — from advertisement sales and fundraisers to the home crowds and faithful fans who travel to road games.
"It's huge," he said. "We love our home crowd's energy, and our road warrior fans who travel with us to support the Tigers wherever the road takes us. At the conclusion of our home games we invite the community down to the field to celebrate with our team, and it has been one of the coolest traditions that we have started."