MOSES LAKE – The Mavericks’ three defensive stands on a fourth down played a significant role in their 21-19 win over Sunnyside on Friday, with head coach Brett Jay calling the performance character-revealing.

“The fourth quarter’s not a time where you build character I believe, I think that’s built throughout the week, throughout the process. Our character was revealed with those fourth-down stops,” Jay said.

Junior receiver/defensive back Kyson Thomas, who laid out two big hits on the Grizzlies’ second-to-last drive in Moses Lake territory, shared a similar thought to Jay’s.

“I think we found our personality as a team tonight,” Thomas said. “I think it’s just dogs, dog mentality – all of us.”

Moses Lake never trailed in Friday’s win, despite the score being close at times. The Mavericks opened up scoring with a two-yard run by senior running back Maddox Gwinn to take a 7-0 lead. Gwinn finished the game with 87 rushing yards, including a 15-yard run to seal the win with under a minute left.

“It felt pretty good,” Gwinn said. “Once I got the open holes, my team made it easy.”

Sunnyside and Moses Lake traded scores on the half’s final three drives, giving the Mavericks a 14-12 lead with Sunnyside not converting on extra point attempts. Maverick quarterback Brock Clark scored on a two-yard run and Sunnyside receiver Noah McNair caught two touchdowns.

Clark returned to the field on Friday after exiting Moses Lake’s 25-22 win over Central Valley three weeks ago with an injury.

“He managed our offense well,” Jay said. “First game in two or three (games), he missed one or two, but he’s gonna get back in rhythm next week.”

The senior quarterback added that he was excited to come back and play with his teammates.

“Sitting out those two weeks, it was tough,” Clark said. “Coming back out, I was ready to go.”

Late in the third quarter, Clark found junior receiver Joel Middleton on a deep ball down the field to extend the lead to 21-12 over Sunnyside. Middleton had beat his defender along the sideline, and Clark’s pass hit him in stride on his way to the end zone.

“We were going short stuff and then these corners, they were starting to bite on it,” Clark said. “We called a little hitch-and-go, Joel (ran) a perfect route. Just lay it on him, touchdown.”

The Maverick defense had been putting pressure on Sunnyside quarterback Brent Maldonado all night, forcing him to escape from the pocket and make plays with his legs.

“It’s all about getting the quarterback out of the pocket,” Moses Lake tight end/defensive end Tell Rathbun said. “We knew going into this that he was a quick quarterback, he liked to roll. The big thing was to get him out of the pocket and into a spot where he couldn’t throw the ball and make a big play downfield.”

Many of the pressures led to incomplete passes or short gains in yardage which helped set up the fourth down plays where Moses Lake was successful on Friday night.

“There was three or four fourth-down stops within two yards, and we did it,” Jay said. “That shows you where our defense is at.”

A late score by Sunnyside cut the lead to two points, but an onside kick recovery by junior receiver Keston Roylance allowed the Mavs to run out the clock. With the win, Moses Lake won its fifth-straight game and improved to 6-1 on the year with a 4-0 record in league play. Sitting atop the Columbia Basin Big 9 Conference isn’t on Jayas he gets the Mavericks ready to play against West Valley next week.

“It’s nice to get a homecoming win against a good team,” Jay said. “That’s all I care about. We’re gonna go to West Valley next week, and they’ve got as good a quarterback in the state. That’s gonna put us to the test, and I can’t wait to go and compete with them.”

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

Box score:

Moses Lake 7-7-7-0: 21

Sunnyside 0-12-0-7: 19