Mavs' historic season ends with quarterfinal appearance

Nov. 26—MOSES LAKE — On Saturday, the Moses Lake Mavericks (11-1) fell to the Lake Stevens Vikings 76-41 on the road in the quarterfinals of the 4A state football tournament. Despite the loss, head coach Brett Jay was proud of how his players fought to the end.

"That's the DNA of our program was to fight. We pulled it within a couple of scores a few times, but we ultimately couldn't get stops on defense for various reasons and just couldn't make up for the first quarter," Brett said.

The Mavericks fell behind early in the first quarter as the Vikings took a commanding 21-0 lead. From there, the Mavericks got into rhythm and consistently found the endzone. However, Lake Stevens was able to maintain their lead for the remainder of the game.

"We saw some speed we haven't seen yet. That's the fastest team we've played (against) and sometimes speed just kills," Brett said.

After falling behind by three scores, the Moses Lake offense erupted with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Brady Jay to Elijah Burns to cut the deficit to 21-7. However, Lake Stevens found the endzone for the fourth time in the first half to take another three-score lead.

Though the Mavs were able to score once again, the Vikings added yet another score of their own to take a 35-14 lead at halftime. Moses Lake received the kickoff to start the third quarter.

The offense got right back to work and moved the ball downfield, mostly through the air. Brady found Burns once again, who took it 24 yards for another touchdown, cutting the score to 35-21.

"We found some matchups we really liked. (Brady) was getting the ball out of his hands quickly and our receivers started making some great plays downfield. Protection was outstanding ... it's that old adage when talent meets hard work, man, good stuff's going to happen," Brett said.

However, once again, the Vikings matched Moses Lake with quick scores of their own throughout the rest of the third quarter. By the start of the fourth quarter, Moses Lake scored 20 points while Lake Stevens put up 27.

With a 62-34 lead, the Vikings rode their momentum to two more scores before the Mavericks scored for the final time on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Carter Anderson.

"There were some times where we thought we had the situation under control, and then they'd (break loose) and create a big play, so that was tough," Brett said.

Though the Mavericks fell short of their goal of winning a state championship, Brett said they have plenty to be proud of. This season is officially the winningest season in Mavericks history. After 81 years of football, this team will go down as one of the best ever.

"We're just excited for this group. Team 81 is something that we've taken pride in all year. They've raised the bar here at Moses Lake High School," he said.

In his five years as the Mavericks' head coach, Brett said he felt great about the experience level of this team all season. They always found solutions to their obstacles rather than resorting to blame or division. He said it was great to see a solution-based program come to fruition. To him, it goes past just what they do on the gridiron.

"It was really fun to be a part of that, and players buy in, and coaches buy in and represent our community," Brett said.

After this season, a new standard has been set that can be followed for years to come. It all starts in the weight room, he said. Now riding the momentum of this season into next year, Brett has no doubt the Mavericks will remain competitive.

In addition to the team's success, Brady set a new state record for touchdown passes in a single season with 72. This feat surpasses former Prosser quarterback and current New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore, who threw 67 passing touchdowns in 2006.

"Brady would be the first to tell you that his receivers catching the ball for him, and his O-line blocking for him, put him in that position. Brady worked at it from the time he was in diapers, man, to do something like that ... just proud of him," Brett said.

Brett said he is always amazed to watch his players' hard work pay off. They work year-round to prepare for each football season. With how they bought into the process of finding success as a team, Brett said they will carry that with them for the rest of their lives.

Nevertheless, Brett is left with positive feelings about what they accomplished this season.

"We're proud to represent (the community) the way we did, and we look forward to more," he said.

BOX SCORE:

MAVS: 0-14-20-7: 41

LKST: 21-14-27-14: 76