High-flying offense helps give Mavs a 4-0 start

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake’s high-powered offense has lit up the scoreboard through the first four weeks this fall, allowing the Mavericks to outscore their opponents 168-24 so far this season.

“I think we like where we’re at right now,” Moses Lake Head Coach Brett Jay said. “We feel like we’re playing to our abilities. Are we playing perfect games? No, not even close, but we are pleased with our efforts, we are pleased with their attitudes and we feel we’re playing well as a team. That’s most important.”

The offense’s success starts up front according to Jay, as the Mav offensive line has progressed as a unit throughout the first four weeks of the season. Moses Lake has starters of all grades on the offensive line, with two sophomores, a freshman, a junior and a senior all starting up front.

“We’re pretty young up front, but they’ve really committed to what we do,” Jay said. “Whether they’re run blocking, pass setting or blocking a screen, they really work on their craft every day. I’m really proud of our o-line and how far they’ve come over a short period of time.”

Lining up under center is sophomore quarterback Brady Jay, Brett’s son, who has posted 1,259 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 68.8% of his passes through Week 4.

“Brady’s distributing the ball well, he’s getting it out of his hand quickly,” Brett Jay said. “That’s one of the things he does well, he takes what the defense gives him and the ball comes out of his hands very quickly. He’s not holding on to it for five and six seconds, so that helps us as well.”

Hauling in those passes are seniors Joel Middleton, Kyson Thomas and Hayden Throneberry, who have all caught more than 20 passes so far this season. Middleton leads the pack with 479 receiving yards, followed by Thomas (360 yards) and Throneberry (191 yards), though Thomas leads the Mavs with 10 touchdown catches.

“We’ve got three receivers that are three-year starters, and they make plays,” Jay said. “They’ve gone from (being) young and athletic to mature, hardworking, trust-the-process seniors. They know if they come out and do their job they’re going to have a position to make big plays in the game.”

A committee of senior Jonah Robertson, junior Tommy Ranson Jr. and sophomore Carson Huberdeau have led the Mavericks out of the backfield, something Jay said has been beneficial.

“They’ve all had their big moments,” Jay said. “They don’t care (about splitting carries), they say ‘Okay, my number’s called, so I’m going to be the best I can be.’ It’s really fun to coach players like that.”

While the offense has found success this season, Jay said it’s been the team’s mentality in all three phases that have guided Moses Lake to its 4-0 start.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re on defense, doesn’t matter if they’re on offense, it doesn’t matter if they’re a special team member – our guys that are on our team, they want to positively impact the game,” Jay said. “It feels really good when the group feels that way. They don’t have a specific agenda or anything like that, they just want to do what’s best for the team.”

Even coming off a 44-point performance against Central Valley last Friday, where the team put up 620 yards of offense, Jay said there are still improvements to be made before Moses Lake heads into the teeth of league play.

“We feel like we left stuff off the table last week, to be honest,” Jay said. “It was nice to get both facets of the game going, passing and rushing, but we felt that there were a couple times we should have finished drives that we didn’t. We’re very hungry, and we can’t wait to get back to work.”

Moses Lake travels to Wenatchee for a battle against the Panthers on Friday night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

“Wenatchee’s a great football team, they’ve got a great coach and we’re excited about going back to work and putting our best foot forward,” Jay said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.