MOSES LAKE — Maverick quarterback Brady Jay has high aspirations for his junior season with Moses Lake. 

“I want to win league, go undefeated, go on a state-run, throw for 3,500 yards, 45 touchdowns in the regular season and keep my picks to under six,” the rising Moses Lake junior said. 

Jay took over as the full-time starter for Moses Lake in 2023, helping pilot the Mavs to an 8-2 record while throwing for 3,251 yards and 48 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 68.8% in Moses Lake’s high-flying offense. 

It wasn’t Jay’s first time under center — as a freshman, he saw playing time down the stretch of the 2022 season against West Valley (Yakima), Eastmont and Gonzaga Prep. That playing time, combined with seven-on-seven competition in the off-season, prepared the quarterback to take over as the starter. 

“I got to go up against great varsity competition with all my receivers, and get our chemistry (up),” Jay said of the seven-on-seven competitions. “We were able to win some tournaments before we went into the season – so we went into the season already in mid-season form.” 

Plenty of time spent in the weight room helped as well. 

“I had to get my arm stronger, which I did,” Jay said. “Just get bigger, faster, stronger and keep maturing.” 

Moses Lake took on Ephrata in Jay's first start of the 2023 season, where he completed 24 of 31 passes for 266 yards and six touchdowns against the Tigers in a 58-3 win. That win sparked the Mavericks, who began the season 8-0. 

“It was a good first starting game,” Jay said. “I was able to calm my nerves — that was probably the game I was most nervous for, actually. I was able to calm my nerves, get some starting experience.” 

Dropping back to throw nearly 400 times over the season led to some fun times out on Lions Field on Friday nights. 

“It was a lot of fun getting to throw the ball a lot,” Jay said. “Ball’s in my hands, getting the ball to receivers, to the playmakers. It got difficult toward the end; teams started dropping eight, sometimes even nine guys. But it was all fun.” 

With each win stacking up over the regular season, both Moses Lake and Eastmont matched up with unbeaten records in a de facto Big 9 championship game in East Wenatchee. The Maverick offense struggled in the loss, and Jay threw four interceptions — a week later, another four-interception game followed with a loss to Chiawana in the 4A District 6/8 Crossover. 

Those two games left an impact on the rising junior quarterback, he said. 

“I’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Jay said. “Can’t turn it over as much, and gotta start fast. First quarter all the way to the fourth quarter.” 

Entering 2024, Moses Lake will feature a new receiving corps — receivers Kyson Thomas, Joel Middleton and Hayden Throneberry were the top three receivers last season and have all graduated and moved on to play college football. Jay and his fellow Mavs have spent plenty of time with each other in the off-season learning each other’s tendencies, whether it’s throwing the ball at Lions Field or watching film. 

“They know what I’m thinking, I know that they’re thinking,” Jay said.  

Leading the Mavericks on Fridays from the sidelines is Moses Lake head coach Brett Jay, Brady’s father. Brady noted his father’s experience in football as the main reason he began playing the sport, beginning his first tackle football season coming when he was in the first grade. 

“I’ve been going to his high school practices since I was probably 2 or 3 years old,” Jay said. “I’ve been throwing a football — there's videos of me throwing when I was one year old.” 

The two remain at work throughout the off-season, he said. 

“He tells me what I need to do better, my reads and stuff,” Jay said. “We train all spring, all summer — we're hard workers.” 

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

    Moses Lake quarterback Brady Jay throws a pass during a road game against Eastmont during the 2023 football season.
  

    After receiving some playing time as a freshman down the stretch of the 2022 season, Moses Lake quarterback Brady Jay was the full-time starter for the Maverick football team for his sophomore season.
  

    Moses Lake quarterback Brady Jay threw for 3,251 yards and 48 touchdowns while completing 68.8% of his passes last fall.