Late comeback lifts Mavericks to state quarterfinals

MOSES LAKE – On Saturday, the Moses Lake Mavericks (11-0) defeated the Bothell Cougars 17-14 in a physical first round matchup of the 4A state football tournament. Head Coach Brett Jay was visibly overcome with emotion after their hard-fought win.   

“These guys work so hard. I've just never seen a group work so hard, and we get another week with them. We get another Monday, and you can't wait for Monday, for walk-throughs, and we're going to go attack the next opponent,” Brett said.   

The game went back and forth throughout. Bothell brought a strong air attack led by their quarterback who possessed a strong arm and accuracy that gave the Mavericks defense a unique challenge. Despite throwing two interceptions, Mavs quarterback Brady Jay remained composed and rallied with his team to pull off a close win at home.   

Brady said this game showed how much his mental strength has improved since last season.   

“Last year, I threw a couple of picks and got all down and just spiraled from there. I didn't want to let that happen this year. So I just made sure to pick everybody else up along with myself and just keep going and win the game,” Brady said.   

In the first quarter, Moses Lake took the ball downfield for their first score. Despite a few penalties threatening to stall their drive, Brady found Grant Smith over the middle for a touchdown, and the Mavs took a 7-0 lead early.   

Bothell tried to respond on their drive but ultimately were shut down by the Mavericks defense. The Cougars went for it on fourth down and were unsuccessful resulting in a turnover on downs.   

In the second quarter, the Cougars were looking to put together a scoring drive but found themselves on fourth down again. This time they opted to punt, but the center snapped the ball over the punters head and was downed in the endzone resulting in a safety, increasing the Mavericks lead to 9-0.   

The Mavericks drove downfield through the run game but ended up having a turnover on downs after officials said Brady did not cross the line to gain on fourth down. Bothell finally found momentum late in the second quarter. On a play that saw the ball pitched behind the line of scrimmage three times before being thrown down, field resulted in a huge gain that set up the Cougars at the Mavericks 11-yard line. Shortly after, they punched the ball into the endzone for their first score of the game, cutting the deficit to 9-7 at halftime.   

In the second half, the Cougars came out swinging with a touchdown in the third quarter to take a 9-14 lead over the Mavericks. From there, it was a defensive back and forth. Neither team was giving an inch.   

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Mavericks found their way back into the endzone and converted a two-point play to take a 17-14 lead. Bothell possessed the ball for most of the fourth quarter. They slowly drove the ball downfield, but the Mavericks defense showed a bend don’t break mentality. On fourth down, the Cougars attempted a field goal that would have tied the game but missed.  

An energetic crowd at Lions Field showered the home team with cheers.   

“We love our town, we love our community, we're a family here, and it takes everybody to do something like what we did today,” Brett said.   

With four minutes to go in the game, the Mavericks offense took over. They strategically moved the chains through the run to drain the clock. Running back Elijah Burns never had a doubt the Mavericks would come out on the right end of this game.   

“We were down a little bit, and we just had to keep going, and that's what it's about... just keep going,” Burns said.   

Brett was complimentary of Burns’ effort running the ball against the Cougars Saturday.  

“Burns runs the ball well, O-line moved the chains. When we don't play behind the chains, we're really good. When we get behind the chains, I don't care who you are; that's tough. Percentages of getting first downs go down considerably. We got to work on staying ahead of the chains,” he said.   

Despite some turnovers, Brett also showed love to Brady’s ability to stay composed in tough situations like Saturday’s game.   

“Just proud of him, he knew this moment would come where you'd be playing a good defense and he threw a couple picks, but he threw a touchdown to win the game. I just can't tell you how proud of him I am," he said.   

From Brady’s perspective, the grit and resilience the Mavericks showed on Saturday exemplified exactly what their mantra ‘Grind City’ means.   

“We work so hard in the weight room all year round. That's what built this program back up to where we are right now. When we got to run the ball like that to get first downs, we used our strength,” Brady said.

Looking ahead to next week, the Mavericks are set to play Lake Stevens on the road at 4 p.m. As they prepare to play the second overall seed, Brett said they will focus on finishing drives.

“We're going to finish drives better next week, but I thought all three phases did what we had to do. It’s playoff football... it took a lot, but we did it,” Brett said.   

BOX SCORE: 

BOTH: 0-7-7-0: 14
MAVS: 7-2-0-8: 17 

    The Mavs’ Kaden Dominguez (52) shows love to the Mavericks fans in the stands after they defeated Bothell at home.
  

    Brady Jay (2) lowers his shoulder as he collides with a Bothell defender on Saturday. Jay said his mental strength showed its improvement in Saturdays game.
  

    Elijah Burns (23) turns the corner on a run play against Bothell on Saturday. Quarterback Brady Jay said their win showed what ‘Grind City’ is all about.
  

    MLHS’s Taggart Rathbun navigates traffic as he carries the ball upfield on offense.
  

    Petrah Mackenzie (24), John Rainey (8) and Theo Kalasountas (33) celebrate after forcing a turnover on downs against Bothell on Saturday.
  

    Mavs’Head Coach Brett Jay and Donnie Lindgren embrace after completing a late comeback win over Bothell in the 4A state tournament on Saturday.