MOSES LAKE – On Friday, the Moses Lake Mavericks defeated the Sunnyside Grizzlies 49-13 in their first home game of the season. Head coach Brett Jay said it was great to finally have a game at home in front of their fans.   

“Good to get back home, we had two games on the other side of the mountains. It's fun to get back in front of our home crowd, great crowd tonight, youth football night, fun to see all the youth football players, but just proud of our team, it was a total team effort,” Brett said.  

The Mavs opened the game with the ball and showed a preference for the pass game early on. Quarterback Brady Jay found receiver Carter Anderson down the sideline to flip field position and put the Mavs near the red zone.   

A couple of plays later, Brady broke out of the pocket to the right side and found Taggart Rathbun for a short touchdown pass. The Mavs took a 7-0 lead.   

On Sunnyside’s first offensive drive, they would move the ball well past the 50-yard line after capitalizing on a few mistakes by the Mavericks' defense. However, the Mavs would dig in and prevent the Grizzlies from any further productivity.   

Once they got the ball back, the Mavs would once again continue to move the ball downfield. Brady flipped the field position on a 48-yard pass to Rathbun.  Shortly after, Jay found Rathbun once again over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown pass, increasing their lead to 14-0.   

In the second quarter, the Mavs piled on the points with three touchdowns. One of those came after Brady escaped the pocket to the left and threw the ball to Grant Smith, who caught it in the endzone with his toes barely in bounds.   

The Mavs receivers throughout the game showed their ability to get open when Brady was under pressure. Smith said this is something they have worked on in practice.   

“It's called scramble drill. We work on it in practice every day. You run your route, and then if he doesn't throw it right (away), you either go up, or you come back or you go out. You got to find ways to get open the best you can,” Smith said.   

Just before halftime, Sunnyside found their way into the endzone, but the Mavs blocked the extra point. With just over a minute to go, Brady found running back Elijah Burns on a check down which turned into a 58-yard gain, putting MLHS in scoring position.   

Shortly after, Brady found Case Anderson in the endzone for a short touchdown pass to put them up 35-6 at halftime.   

In the second half, the Mavs scored twice more, solidifying their victory. Jay would find Tyce Miller along the left sideline for a 49-yard touchdown and Smith once again in the back of the endzone.   

The Mavs finished the game with 406 passing yards. Brett said his receivers did a great job of executing scramble drills throughout the game.   

“Teams will give us different looks (on defense) that we've never seen on film before. Tonight, there were wild looks in the back end, and so we have to be able to scramble drill. We've been working on that for years and so these guys have a great relationship together, and they did a good job,” he said.   

Brett also praised the defensive line for their efforts against Sunnyside. He said they were much improved this year and did a great job of creating pressure in the pocket for the Grizzlies quarterback.   

The Mavs hit the road Thursday to play the Wenatchee Panthers, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

“Coach (Taylor) Mitchell is doing a great job over there. That’s a good Wenatchee team, and we know they're well coached, and it's going to be a great game,” Brett said.   

BOX SCORE:  

MLHS: 14-21-7-7: 49  
SNNY: 0-6-0-7:      13 

    The Mavericks take Lions Field for the first home game of the season. Head Coach Brett Jay said it was great to finally have a home game in front of an energetic crowd.
  

    The Mavs’ Carson Huberdeau (4) evades a tackle from a Sunnyside defender during their game on Friday. The Mavs dominated the pass game with over 400 passing yards.
  

    The Mavericks’ quarterback Brady Jay throws the ball downfield after escaping the pocket against Sunnyside on Friday. Jay finished with several touchdown passes outside of the pocket on Friday.
  

    A Mavericks offensive lineman hoists Grant Smith (13) in the air after he scored a touchdown against Sunnyside on Friday. Smith said the receivers executed scramble drill well against the Grizzlies.
  

    The Mavs’ John Rainey (8) celebrates with lineman Kaden Dominguez (52) after making a stop on defense. Head Coach Brett Jay said their much-improved defensive line excelled at creating pressure on Sunnyside’s quarterback.