Playoff Notebook: Battle of the Undefeated as Vikings Host Moses Lake at 4:00 pm in Lake Stevens
Moses Lake QB Brady Jay one TD pass shy of tying all time season record, controversy bubbles up re: Bothell loss in Moses Lake, All eyes on Gonzaga Prep - GK...NW League cutting ties w/ Archbishop?
MOSES LAKE, WA — After twice passing his way to nine touchdown performances en route to a 66-touchdown pass season through eleven games, Moses Lake senior quarterback BRADY JAY found the sledding a little tougher versus Bothell in Moses Lake last Saturday, passing for less than 200 yards and yielding two interceptions to go with his two passing TDs.
Nonetheless, he led the Mavericks into the state 4A quarterfinals for the first time in school history, and one more touchdown pass will tie Jay with the 67-TD mark established by former Prosser QB Kellen Moore — currently the head coach of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.
But Jay and his head coach-slash-father Brett Jay almost didn’t make it to Lake Stevens this weekend: it appeared as if Bothell had engineered a late fourth quarter comeback, throwing what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown with under five minutes left. The touchdown came off the board thanks to a difficult to spot holding penalty, and Bothell missed the ensuing field goal try. Moses Lake took the ball and suffocated the rest of the clock en route to a 17-14 win.
In the days following the contest, parents from Bothell began circulating a letter that raised questions about the staffing of the referees in Moses Lake, requesting that the WIAA investigate the situation and take steps to insure something similar doesn’t occur again.
The widely-circulated letter states that the referee crew was manned by several individuals with very close ties to Moses Lake.
J425 hasn’t individually corroborated the allegations but we’ve looked into the situation enough to know that if Bothell football hadn’t co-signed the letter, they weren’t knocking it back either.
And sources closes to Moses Lake football — while pointing out that the penalties-called discrepancy in the game actually favored Bothell by a wide margin (aside from, one would assume, the called-back game-winning TD) — didn’t deny that some on the referee crew had ties to the program, arguing instead that such was the nature of smaller town football.
That said, the issue was picked up by Moses Lake’s hometown Columbia Basin Herald, which published specifics:
A parent of a Bothell player made claims that officials overseeing the game had direct ties to Moses Lake and the Mavericks football program. They referenced the Washington Officials Associations code of conduct, which she said states that ties to the team must be disclosed.
The officials referenced were Jaret Fulbright, a former coaching staff member for the Mavericks and parent of a current student athlete, Brett Hill who is a longtime MLHS supporter and parent and the back judge, who was not directly named but was said to be a former player from 2007 and a teacher at Moses Lake.
The Columbia Basin Herald even reached Moses Lake coach Bret Jay, who issued a “no comment” on the matter, stating that he was focused on Lake Stevens.
Previewing Moses Lake at Lake Stevens
Regardless, while Moses Lake was eeking its way to a controversial three point home win, Lake Stevens continued to cruise last week, smacking a 9-2 Kamiakin team with a running clock 55-14 victory behind five more touchdowns from junior quarterback BLAKE MOSER.
And while Moser’s combined 39 touchdowns on the season (second in 4A) pale in comparison to Jay’s record-setting mark of 66, it’s also relevant to point out that Moser has accomplished his statistics in considerably less playing time, averaging a little over two quarters per game before giving way to reserves in the second half.
On a per snap basis, no one in the state is more efficient than Moser, who is averaging over 15 yards per attempt for the season.
Moser’s passer rating of 130 also ranks higher than Jay’s 127. Both Jay and Moser are fast, effective runners.
Jay has rushed for 393 yards on 52 carries for an average of 7.6. Moser, on the other hand, has rushed for 489 yards on 35 carries, good for a gaudy average of 14-yards-per-carry and eight rushing touchdowns. Jay features hig-end sprinter speed, with an athletic.net verified 10.97 100m time to his name. Moser runs a sub-6.7 60 and set the Viking football program record with a 4.47 forty yard dash this Spring.
These times and film indicates that Moser is even faster than Jay, although in person evidence will be decisive tomorrow.
Brady Jay and Bret Jay: End of the Road?
Brady Jay went to elementary school in Monroe, so it wasn’t always destined that he’d quarterback the Moses Lake Mavericks. It was, however, pre-destined that he’d play high school ball for his Air Raid-running head coach dad, Brett Jay.
And now, after a 3,700+ yard, 66 TD campaign leaves Brady one touchdown short of history and Brett Jay three wins short of a 4A title, there’s been talk as to whether this is the last ride for both Jays.
Brady will head to the University of Montana under scholarship next year. And the way Brett Jay is talking, it’s unclear where he is future lies.
“For me, there’s nothing like coaching football. And having a chance to coach my son throughout high school has been amazing. We’re so grateful that things worked out the way they did,” Brett Jay told Stat Hound Media.
Jay is supported by two all conference wide receivers, senior Grant Smith whose 873 yards and 20 TDs led his region, and senior Carter Anderson, who averaged over 17 yards per catch and hauled in 17 touchdowns.
Moses Lake junior running back Elijah Burns has led the state in receptions each of the last two seasons, hauling in over 150 balls combined.
This year, Burns has 74 receptions for 715 yards and 7 TD catches. On the ground, Burns has rushed for 427 yards at a little over six yards per carry.
Lake Stevens Big Play Attack a Differentiator
By comparison, every single Viking ball carrier sports per-carry averages exceeding ten yards per attempt, led by Moser’s 14-yards per rush.
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