MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake came out on top of last weekend’s Kings of the Columbia 7-on-7 football tournament, defeating Chiawana 30-14 in the championship game.

In last year’s tournament, Moses Lake fell 28-27 to Richland in the championship game.

“They were talking about that before the tournament started, they had something to prove,” Moses Lake football Head Coach Brett Jay said. “Got close that year before, so they wanted to win it.”

7-on-7 football removes the offensive and defensive lines from the game, allowing teams to focus solely on executing their passing game. The tournament was hosted by Columbia Basin Youth Football and played at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland over the weekend.

“It helps improve our pass game and our pass defense,” Jay said. “We create relationships with each other offensively, and we’re able to focus in on pass concepts. It kind of separates itself from the offensive line so we can really see what we need to work at and improve, and then when we get to team camp we’re able to connect the two.”

After pool play on Saturday, Moses Lake opened Sunday’s bracket play with a 28-26 win over Hanford, then defeated Burbank 29-13 in the tournament semifinals. The Mavs won the varsity championship with their 30-14 win over Chiawana.

Ten Mavericks caught passes during the tournament; sophomore Grant Smith had 20 catches for 237 yards and four scores; sophomore Deme Holman caught 19 passes for 230 yards and five touchdowns; sophomore Hudson Palmer had 26 catches for 197 yards and five touchdowns; sophomore Carson Huberdeau hauled in 13 receptions for 139 yards and four touchdowns; sophomore Carter Anderson’s 11 catches went for 105 yards and three touchdowns; freshman Taggart Rathbun caught six passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns; junior Tommy Ransom had seven catches for 62 yards and a touchdown; junior Calin Dameron caught two passes for 12 yards; sophomore Treyson Knowles caught one pass for seven yards; and freshman Elijah Burns had one catch for five yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore quarterback Brady Jay completed 106-of-121 passes for 1,098 yards and 25 touchdowns.

During pool play, Moses Lake defeated Richland 28-21, Grandview 30-7 and Wahluke 28-12. The Mavs scored on 24 of their 25 possessions over the weekend, Jay said.

“It’s good, our program is developing guys at all levels,” Jay said. “We graduated four receivers that are all going to play in college next year, and to have our next group step in and have success against very good competition was a real good feeling for all of us.”

Moses Lake opens the 2024 football season Sept. 6 against Rigby (Idaho) at Rocky Mountain High School in Idaho.

“Football’s a developmental game, and sometimes you want guys to develop at the freshman level, you want guys to develop at the JV level and then obviously when they get to the varsity level, they’re ready to go,” Jay said. “That’s important to us, to commit to the entire process.”

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

    Moses Lake sophomore Brady Jay completed 106-of-121 passes for 1,098 yards and 25 touchdowns in last weekend’s Kings of the Columbia 7-on-7 football tournament in Richland.