MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks regained a home game on their schedule Friday after air quality shifted their away game against Wenatchee to  Lions Field. Grabbing hold of the home-field advantage, the Mavs showed off their strength with a 56-0 victory over the Panthers. 

“We had a rough week and then we came out and balled,” said Mavs receiver Carter Anderson.  

The Mavs came out of the gate swinging, earning two touchdowns in the first quarter. They then followed that with three more in the second quarter and made a kick recovery, putting the Mavs up 35-0 just before the half. Coming into the second half, the Mavs continued their streak and forced Wenatchee to turn the ball over on downs deep within their own territory, allowing for two touchdowns in the third quarter and one in the fourth. The Mavs defense held Wenatchee to zero scores in the second half, which ended the game with a huge win. 

“I feel like we executed well,” said Mavs Wide Receiver Taggart Rathbun. “I mean, we still need improvement; we got stopped once, but overall, I think we played really well and got our first shutout of the season.” 

This week’s matchup had some uncertainty for both teams and was eventually moved to be played in Moses Lake due to the fires that have broken out around the state, resulting in poor air quality in Wenatchee. Mavs head coach Brett Jay said it was beneficial to their team since they were coming into the season with only four home games and this allowed them to prove their ability to change on the fly. 

“We really feel that we are built for adversity, and we train for it all year round,” said Jay. “The second they shifted, we shifted our plans and our players responded well, our coaches responded well, our administration did a fantastic job putting tonight’s game on with (short) notice and I’m just grateful for how it all went.” 

Jay said he was pleased with how well the team played on all sides of the ball. He was particularly proud of the defense’s efforts in preventing their opponent from scoring through all four quarters. The offense’s ability to keep up momentum and run out the clock once the Mavs were ahead was also credited to the players’ dedication.  

The greatest strength for the Mavs was their ability to prepare for any situation, said Rathbun. He said the team showed great perseverance throughout the game, which will benefit that strength as they head deeper into the season. 

Anderson said the team did a great job finishing against Wenatchee, especially in the final minutes before halftime. Moving forward, he said the team will just have to keep building off that and tightening up things on both offense and defense. 

Moving into their next matchup the Mavs are going to work on their reps and just analyze every aspect of Friday’s game and apply it to their future, said Jay. 

“Every game is a world of its own, a life of its own and so much that plays out in it that we just have to evaluate it and then we go back to work,” Jay said. “Every week we have an opportunity to get better as a program and that’s what we’re going to do.” 

The Mavs will be at home this Friday, where they will face off against Eisenhower at 7 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

MLHS: 14-21-14-7: 56
WNCH: 0-0-0-0: 0 

    Mavs defenders Petrah Mackenzie (24) and Tommy Jones (30) close in on Wenatchee’s receiver after kickoff. Mavs head coach Brett Jay said that the team did a great job keeping up their momentum through all four quarters.
  

    Mavs quarterback Brady Jay runs with the ball while looking for an open receiver during Friday’s game against Wenatchee. Jay said it was a great win overall and that he was pleased with how his team came together.
  

    Mavs receiver Carter Anderson runs through an opening made by the offensive line. He said it was great for his team to gain an extra home game for the season as they only had four scheduled.
  

    Mavs running back Elijah Burns punches down the middle and attempts to evade Wenatchee defenders. Head coach Brett Jay said the offense did a great job running out the clock once they got ahead in Friday’s matchup.
  

    Nolan Decubber (10) sets up the ball for kicker Case Anderson (5) as he kicks an extra point for the Mavs. Head coach Brett Jay said