EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers are returning to the field for the 2025 season with a sense of confidence. They ended their previous season with a 5-5 record and plan to improve that record and make a deep playoff run.

“We had a few key players leave last year, but I think we’re able to bounce right back just with the guys that played not as much,” said Tigers quarterback Brady Hendrick. “I think everyone on the team is ready to go.”

Hendrick is one of the seniors with the Tigers this season and is coming into his third year starting. He said that during just the first few days of practice, he is starting to see strong chemistry between each of the players, where they’re building a tight friend group on a senior-heavy team.

For seniors Hendrick and Brice Strickler, the main goal for this season is to try to make it last as long as possible and go as far as they can into the postseason.

“Last year we had a hot start to the season and then about midway through the year we had a couple of injuries to some key players that kind of knocked us off of what we had as our expectations for the year,” said Tigers Head Coach Patrick Mitchell.

He said this season has most of the same players from last year returning healthy and ready to play. In the offseason, the Tigers lost five seniors, three of them starters, but have around 20 upcoming seniors set to return to the team this fall, making for a senior-heavy team.

The upcoming seniors on the team are all players who garnered a lot of play time last year, with most of the players in key positions returning. The coach said some of the key returners include the four senior linemen: Strickler, Michael Park, Payton Woods-Hartt and Brody Fleurkens.

Strickler said he is very excited for what the offensive line will offer for the Tigers this season, as they are coming into the season with a lot of experienced players.

Other key returners on offense include receivers Hunter Mills and Calvin Lybbert and running backs Carson Andrus and Jacob Reyes. The defense has some openings since last year but will have Owen Fitch playing as middle linebacker and Alex Belino as one of the anchor corners returning this season.

“We’ve got to put in the work, but I think that we’re going to set our expectations high and work and play towards them,” said Mitchell.

While none of the players have committed to play with a college once they graduate, Mitchell said there are quite a few Tigers players that have the potential and desire to play at the next level.

Mitchell is entering his fourth year as the coach of the Tigers football team and said this year’s team is special in that the senior players who are entering their final season are the same freshmen with whom he started his time as a coach.

“A lot of great personalities,” he said. “They’re a lot of fun to coach. That’s kind of the biggest thing is looking forward to the whole experience and getting these guys to be the best versions of themselves.”

The team goal for the Tigers is consistency in every game they play, the coach said. As the team goes through practices and progresses through the season, they will work to be prepared for any situation and compete every chance they get.

“Approaching every single game the exact same way regardless of who the opponent is,” said Mitchell. “Having the right mindset going into every single football game like it’s a championship-level game.”

The Tigers’ first game of the regular season will be at home against Moses Lake High School on today, Aug. 29, at 5 p.m.

    Brice Stricker, one of the Tigers’ senior offensive and defensive linemen, makes a catch during practice. Strickler said he wants this team to stick together and make a deep postseason run this year.
  

    A Tigers player bursts through two pop-up dummies in an attempt to block a pass made by one of the coaches during practice.
  

    Two Tigers players go head-to-head in a blocking drill during their practice. Coach Patrick Mitchell said the offensive line will consist of four veteran senior players this season.
  

    Tigers kicker Caleb Moberg prepares to do a short kick during practice. The Tigers are looking to be senior-heavy this season, with around 20 seniors set to play on the team this fall.
  

    Coach Patrick Mitchell works with a group of players on a running drill where they race around a cone and then back to their starting point.
  

    Ephrata quarterback Brady Hendrick, in black, stiff-arms a Prosser defender while fighting for extra yards last year. Hendrick is returning to the field this year as a senior.
  

    Ephrata’s Llandon Ahmann, who graduated last spring, celebrates forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down to seal the Tigers’ comeback win over Prosser last year.