MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (9-1) have punched their ticket to state after an exciting game against the Kentwood Conquerors on Saturday afternoon. After a hard-fought battle from both sides, the Mavs claimed victory 47-26.  

"I was super excited to get back out here and play," said Mavs junior and quarterback Nolan Decubber. "We all knew it was going to be a good game. We didn't think of it as anything more than a normal game, so we just came out and did our job." 

Saturday's game got off to a competitive start where the Mavs scored on their opening drive. After marching down field senior running back Elijah Burns took off from about the 25-yard line into the endzone to put MLHS up 7-0 early on. 

Kentwood responded on the following drive with a bomb from Moses Lake's 35-yard line to the endzone to tie the game at 7-7. Heading into the second quarter, the Mavs regained the lead off a pass on Kentwood's 35-yardline from Decubber to junior receiver Isaac Legault. Kentwood put a stop to the extra point to put the game at 13-7. 

The Conquerors responded quickly, scoring on the following drive on a deep pass and took the lead as they completed the extra point. MLHS made a deep drive into Kentwood territory on the following drive, but the Conquerors forced a turnover on downs. 

Moses Lake didn't allow Kentwood to score on the following drive as Isaac Legualt snagged an interception on a deep pass. This culminated in the Mavs moving downfield again and Decubber connecting with Burns for a touchdown that put them up 19-14. Kentwood rallied for another touchdown before halftime to claim a 20-19 lead. 

Returning from the half, Moses Lake started to go full throttle on all sides of the ball. In the third quarter, the Mavs defense stepped up to hold Kentwood scoreless. 

While the defense held things down, the MLHS offense got to work. The Mavs made their way downfield where sophomore running back Petrah Mackenzie powered his way in for a rushing touchdown, making the score 26-20 in favor of Moses Lake by the end of the third quarter. 

The Mavs were full running at full speed in the fourth as they quickly extended their lead off a 51-yard rushing touchdown by Burns. Though Kentwood scored their own touchdown, Moses Lake once again marched downfield where Burns scored another rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 40-26. 

Burns wasn't done yet as he made a 55-yard run which set the Mavs up to send him in again for another rushing touchdown to score the final points of the game. With this the Mavs, in front of a full crowd of fans, punched their ticket into the 4A state tournament. 

"I'm just super excited," said Decubber. "After halftime we had a talk. Just changed up the game plan, fix up little things that we needed to fix and then came out and we executed very well." 

Mavs Head Coach Kyler Haneberg said he was very proud of how his team showed grit throughout Saturday's game. Early on the Mavs had some errors which led to them trailing at halftime but rallied to dominate the second half. 

“Defense only gave up another six after that and we went on to score 28," said Haneberg. "That's huge for our guys. They bounced back and they knew they needed to be better and we need to do better as coaches and, man, they showed up. They did a really good job." 

Saturday's game was not only a chance at state, the coach said, but it was also an opportunity to prove what the east side of the state is capable of. 

"We're used to the east side getting dogged on for being lesser of a football factory, so we're here to show that the east side can ball," he said. "That was kind of our mindset and then our mantra is always 'Grind City'. We're going to wear you down and we saw that here in the second half." 

Decubber went 15-of-27 passing Saturday, 157 yards and two touchdowns. Moses Lake's ground game helped lead the charge with Mackenzie rushing for 20 yards and a touchdown, Decubber rushing for 45 yards, John Rainey for 81 yards and Burns leading the team with 220 yards and four touchdowns. 

"(Kentwood is) big and strong and we knew that if we stuck to the run game a little bit, we were going to start wearing them down," said the coach. "We start getting that and (Burns) stays up high energy wise the whole time and he knows when it's time to go full throttle. He broke it there a couple of times, so he knows when to pick and choose his shots and he did a really good job there in that fourth quarter." 

Mavs junior Case Anderson led in receptions with five total for 46 yards followed closely by senior Taggart Rathbun with three receptions for 41 yards.  

Decubber said he was very proud of his senior teammates and how they've stepped into their leadership roles throughout this season. During Saturday's game he highlighted support from seniors Elijah Burns and Taggart Rathburn who helped make huge plays for the team and helped lead the offense to victory. 

The quarterback also praised his offensive line, who he said did a phenomenal job throughout the game. 

Moses Lake's defensive efforts were a key highlight throughout the second half as they held Kentwood to six points with four interceptions in the second half. After a bit of a struggle in the first half, Haneberg said the defense adjusted their secondary to gain the advantage. 

"We just started getting consistent pressure up front, getting the QB out of his rhythm, getting him uncomfortable," he said. "It's all-around defense, really getting pressure and then forcing the interceptions on the back end." 

From the players' perspective, Decubber said he and his teammates are all confident in their abilities as the coaches set the team's focus on taking each week one game at a time and working from there.  

"That's the expectation here, is to keep playing and see how far we can go," he said. 

For Haneberg, seeing the Mavs bought into the program and putting in work both in and outside of the season has him looking forward to what's coming next in the postseason. 

"They just buy in because they know it's going to pay off like it paid off (Saturday)," said the coach. 

The Mavs will be hosting the first round of state against Tahoma on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

BOX SCORE 

KTWD: 7-13-0-6: 26 

MLHS: 7-12-7-21: 47 

    Mavs quarterback Nolan Decubber prepares to receive the snap during Saturday's game against Kentwood.
  

    River Hutchinson, a sophomore from Moses Lake, keeps his eye on the ball as he picks off a deep pass thrown by the Kentwood quarterback.
  

    Moses Lake junior Case Anderson kicks off the ball after a scoring drive Saturday afternoon.
  

    John Rainey, a junior for MLHS, breaks tackles to make a huge gain late in Saturday's game against Kentwood.
  

    Senior defenders Eli Anderson (4) and Kage Miller (44) from the Mavs close in on a Kentwood player.