MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (5-1) earned their second straight shutout win with a 56-0 rout of the AC Davis Pirates on Friday. The win also extends their win streak to four straight.  

“Just doing our job, doing what we're supposed to do,” Head Coach Kyler Haneberg said. “Proud of the guys for doing that, especially our twos and threes getting in there, keeping that goose egg, getting a turnover, that's huge for our guys and getting that confidence level in those guys in case it's their time to come in, that's what that's what it's for.” 

The Mavs came out of the gate hot, putting up four scores in the first quarter alone. From there, they built an insurmountable 49-0 lead by halftime behind a well-balanced offensive attack, a punt return by River Hutchinson and a pick-6 by Caden Barney. The depth guys entered the field in the second half, putting up one score in the third quarter as they held off Davis the rest of the game to seal the win.  

Haneberg was proud to see his team find ways to score in all three phases of the game on Friday. 

“River's dynamic on our special teams, and so it's nice having someone back there again. Haven’t had a guy like that since Kyson Thomas. Then (on) defense, Barney almost had one against Post Falls, so we're really happy that he scored one today. That's two games in a row with him. First time starting at corner last week, got the interception. Another game here starting (and) gets a pick six.” 

Barney, a senior for the Mavs is 6’5, making him a high risk for any opposing quarterback to challenge in the pass game. Though his height isn’t what led to the interception in the second quarter on Friday, it was his field vision that allowed him to seize an opportunity.  

“He read it like a book,” said the coach. “It's a perfect play by him. So proud of that kid, he's come a long way, and we finally found a spot for him to be consistently on the field and man, he's shining.” 

On offense, running back Elijah Burns and quarterback Nolan Decubber were responsible for the other scores in the first quarter. Burns got into the endzone twice, the first through the air and the second on a lengthy rushing score.  

Momentum leaned heavily in favor of the Mavericks in the second quarter, with the defense capitalizing and forcing a safety to make it 30-0 early on. The offense continued to operate in rhythm as Petrah Mackenzie plowed his way into the endzone. After Barney’s pick-6 extended the lead to 43-0, Decubber added one more score with a deep ball to Malakai Moreno-Jackson along the sideline for another score ahead of halftime.  

The Mavericks added one more score in the second half. After a deep shot by Ryker Henson-Cutts put the Mavs in scoring territory, running back Jackson Miles finished off the drive with a short range touchdown run to make it 56-0.  

With a running clock and a deep depth chart of talent on defense, Moses Lake held Davis scoreless for the remainder of the game.  

The Mavs hit the road again next week when they travel to play Sunnyside at 7 p.m. With three dominant wins in a row, the Mavs are continuing to improve as the season continues.  

“It's big on just sharpening our sword, and it's not stooping to the team's levels, like staying at our own,” Haneberg said. “That's what I like to see. First couple of games we stooped lower than what we should have been, and we haven't done that the last couple weeks. I'm really proud of our guys for playing at the level that we should be playing at, and that's what it's about. They got to match us, not us match them.” 

As they enter the final stretch of the regular season, Haneberg feels his team is beginning to peak at the right time.  

“Our guys are seeing the field, our running back is breaking 50-yard plus runs like it's nothing; we're throwing bombs like it's nothing,” he said. “We're at the point where everything seems seamless, and it's really easy for play callers like me to call something, and even if it doesn't work, they're going to make it work if it's off script. I think we're still going up, and so we still got a long way to go.” 

BOX SCORE: 

DVIS: 0-0-0-0: 0 

MLHS: 28-21-7-0: 56 

    The Mavs’ Elijah Burns (23) leaves a Davis defender behind on his way to the endzone on Friday.
  

    Caden Barney (6) celebrates with Malakai Moreno-Jackson (13) after he scored a touchdown against Davis on Friday.
  

    Romeo Moreno-Jackson (84) hauls in a deep pass from Nolan Decubber to put the Mavs offense in scoring territory against Davis on Friday.