MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (3-1) were dominant on the gridiron, running away in the second half to defeat the Wenatchee Panthers 58-22 behind a record 309 yards and four touchdowns from running back Elijah Burns on the ground.  

“It was definitely a big win,” Burns said. “Obviously not just me; blocking really helped a lot. We had a lot of good blocking, I ran hard, but it was a lot of blocking. I couldn't have done it without my teammates.” 

The Panthers were competitive early, with both teams scoring 14 points in the first quarter. Moses Lake carried a slight edge into halftime after outscoring Wenatchee 13-8 in the second quarter, taking a 27-22 lead into the break. The second half belonged entirely to Moses Lake. The Mavericks' defense shut out Wenatchee over the final two quarters, while the offense continued to roll. Moses Lake added a touchdown in the third quarter before erupting for 24 fourth-quarter points to put the game away. 

Quarterback Nolan Decubber completed 21-of-27 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Burns 309 yards rushing totaled an average of 11-yards per carry on 26 carries. Petrah Mackenzie was productive in his own right, averaging 8-yards across 7 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. Leading the team in receiving yards was Taggart Rathbun who totaled two catches for 55 yards. 

By the end of the night, the Mavericks totaled 566 yards of offense to earn their third win of the season.  

“Definitely feels like we got a rhythm going, and then being able to rely on someone that can get us some yardage like that in the backfield just takes so much pressure off of our QBs,” Head Coach Kyler Haneberg said. 

According to Haneberg, Decubber started Friday's game 11-for-11 passing, helping the offense start just as fast as Wenatchee did.  

“He was reading the pre-snap really well,” the coach said. “There are a couple plays we unfortunately got a penalty on that would have been huge as well, but he's seeing it pre-snap, and so he's able to see right away and then decide, ‘All right, this is where I'm going to go,’ and most of the time it's a great decision. If not, he holds the ball and he'll either hit his checkdown, which is Burns again, or he's going to take off running himself, like he did at the end of the first half and got us that touchdown.” 

After the game was tied 14-14 after the first quarter, both teams continued to battle and trade the lead. However, a pair of touchdowns by Burns pushed Moses Lake to a 27-22 lead at halftime.  

Haneberg noted the Panthers came out fast in the first half, which might’ve surprised some of his players, meanwhile the Mavericks shot themselves in the foot a couple times. Despite a few missteps, Haneberg was pleased with how they responded throughout the game.  

“A fumble on our very first play puts us in a hole early, and then a snap (was) a little high, goes through the quarterback's hands. I think that's what really kept them in the game,” he said. “We had a couple chances earlier to put them away, but we kind of kept them in it. That's been a theme that we've been struggling with. If there's one thing we've got to work on, it's making sure that right when we have a chance to put teams away, that we don't hurt ourselves.” 

From then on, the Mavericks adjusted and took control of the game. After Decubber led a scoring drive in the third quarter with a passing touchdown to Isaac Legault, Burns and the Mavs ran away with the game in the fourth.  

Moses Lake tacked on two more scores thanks to Burns and Mackenzie, sealing the 58-22 win on the road. 

Burns’ performance on the ground not only sets a school record but also makes a statement that he’s getting back to his full potential once again after navigating a broken leg that should have eliminated his season altogether, he said.

“It was at the beginning of summer, and I've just been working towards (a return), weightlifting a little bit, getting stronger on it, doing physical therapy, just keeping it up and I finally got to play in my first game,” Burns said.  

Burns said he was told about 95% of people who suffer a similar injury as him tend to miss the entire season – he was a full-go by week four.  

“We weren't rushing him because we knew we'd get him back at some point. But I think he felt like he needed to get back,” Haneberg said. “The kid's a fighter; he knows that this is a big year for him if he wants to play at the next level. Going into the game, I told him, ‘Hey man, watching the film, this going to be a good game for you.’ Sure enough, he took that and he went beyond that, and so we're just all really happy for him.” 

Looking ahead, the Mavericks workload slows down just a bit with the bye week Friday. They’ll return to the gridiron and Lions Field on Oct. 9 when they host AC Davis at 7 p.m. 

BOX SCORE: 

MLHS: 14-13-17-14: 58 

WNCH: 14-8-0-0: 22

    Nolan Decubber (10) takes a shot downfield against Wenatchee on Friday.
  

    Moses Lake's Elijah Burns rushed for a school-record 309 yards and four touchdowns against Wenatchee on Friday night.
  

    The Mavericks’ Case Anderson (5) looks to make Wenatchee defenders miss the in the open field Friday night.