Correction: The date and time of the Tigers’ next game have been updated.

EPHRATA — In a back-and-forth Central Washington Athletic Conference regular-season finale filled with momentum swings, the Ephrata Tigers survived a fourth-quarter rally and edged Grandview 26-20 in overtime Thursday night at Kiwanis Field.

Quarterback Brady Hendrick carried the Tigers with a workhorse performance, rushing for 152 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning 25-yard run in overtime. He also threw for 94 yards and a short touchdown pass to junior receiver Mitchell Morford, who caught three passes for 27 yards.

Ephrata built a 14-0 first-quarter lead behind Hendrick’s early 2-yard rushing score on a fourth-and-goal play and a 2-yard TD pass to Morford. Grandview battled back with a pair of long scoring drives to tie the game at halftime. After Hendrick broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Grandview’s sophomore quarterback Diego Pena responded with a 44-yard strike to force overtime.

The Tigers’ defense, led by Owen Fitch (10 tackles) and Calvin Lybbert (10 total stops), came up big in OT, holding Grandview scoreless before Hendrick sealed it with his third rushing touchdown.

The win lifts Ephrata to 6-3 overall, securing one of the CWAC’s five spots in the WIAA Class 2A “Round of 32” statewide play-in matchups.

Ephrata now turns its attention to the Steilacoom Sentinels (7-2 overall, 5-2 in the South Puget Sound League). They will host the Tigers in the Week 10 play-in round this Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. in Steilacoom, southwest of Tacoma.

The Sentinels feature one of the state’s top passing offenses, averaging 260 yards per game. Junior quarterback Titus Kaeka ranks No. 2 in Washington in MaxPreps passing statistics with 2,278 yards, 22 touchdowns and a 63-percent completion rate across nine games. His top target, sophomore receiver Jaleo Johnson, leads all Washington receivers with 1,007 yards and 11 touchdowns, edging out East Valley (Yakima)’s Greyson Stevens for the top spot. Running back Noah Maxwell provides balance, rushing for 724 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Kaeka and Johnson’s statistics are from MaxPreps.com. Not all Washington high-school programs, including Ephrata, report full stats to the site.

Ephrata will counter with a dual-threat offense built around Hendrick, who has accounted for 1,831 total yards and 29 touchdowns this season, according to statistics provided by EHS. Tiger running backs Carson Andrus (453 yards, 3 TDs) and Jacob Reyes (393 yards, 3 TDs) anchor a dominant ground game, while Mitchell Morford (355 yards, 6 TDs), Calvin Lybbert (233 yards, 4 TDs) and Hunter Mills (236 yards, 3 TDs) lead the receiving team.

Defensively, the Tigers bring physicality and depth. Linebacker Owen Fitch leads the unit with 72 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and an interception. Defensive back Lybbert adds 45 tackles, two sacks and an interception while Braiden Baltz and Reyes have each picked off three passes. (Editor's note: GCJ.news only has defensive statistics for eight of the Tigers' nine games.)

The Sentinels’ defense, meanwhile, has tallied 494 tackles with 36 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, seven interceptions and four fumble recoveries. They are led by senior defensive end Xavier Shaw (51 tackles, 12 TFLs, six sacks) and junior free safety Noah Maxwell (65 tackles, 3 INTs).

The matchup highlights two contrasting approaches: Steilacoom’s fast-paced passing game versus Ephrata’s mixed-style shotgun offense. For the Tigers to advance, limiting big plays by Steilacoom and while controlling the ball with their own sustained drives may be the key. 

Across the CWAC, the rest of the conference's five play-in qualifying squads will also be in action this weekend. North Mason (7-2) travels to Prosser (6-3) for a 6 p.m. kickoff Friday. On Saturday at 2 p.m., Othello (8-1) hosts Renton (6-3), undefeated and top-ranked East Valley of Yakima (9-0) welcomes Rogers of Spokane (5-4), and Selah (5-4) travels north to Sehome of Bellingham (5-4).

All games are single-elimination with winners advancing to the 16-team WIAA state tournament, which will be reseeded after this weekend's Week 10 results are calculated.

Other state Class 2A "Round of 32" matchups are Pullman (4-5) at Archbishop Murphy (8-0), Sultan (6-3) at Tumwater (7-1), East Valley of Spokane (5-4) at Orting (9-0), Ridgefield (5-4) at Anacortes (7-2), Bremerton (3-6) vs Lynden (7-2) at Ferndale High School, Cedarcrest (7-2) at Franklin Pierce (7-2), Chief Sealth (6-3) at Olympic (8-1), Columbia River (6-2) at WF West (7-2), Fife (4-5) at Washougal (8-1), Burlington-Edison (5-4) at North Kitsap (7-2), while Aberdeen (6-3) and Mark Morris (4-5) play tonight (Monday, Nov. 3) for a chance to take on West Valley of Spokane (8-1).

*No defensive stats were available for Ephrata's 13-14 loss at Prosser.