Moses Lake football rebuild gets big boost with win over Class 4A contender Kamiakin
One of Brett Jay's coaching idols is the late Mike Leach, especially in the way Leach revitalized backward-tilting programs and guided them to become winners.
Well, Jay is on to something - again - at Moses Lake High School.
On a crazy, weather-delayed game night at Lampson Stadium, the Mavericks stunned co-4A/3A Mid-Columbia Conference favorite and fifth-ranked Kamiakin, 15-14, on Thursday night.
Not only was it the school's first victory over Kamiakin since 2005, it will go down as the biggest triumph by a 4A CBBN program over an MCC opponent in decades.
Not bad for a team that when Jay was hired to lead in 2021, it was coming off a 2-13 record over a two-year stretch.
"I live for growth and belief," said Jay, who has also been the coach at River View, Monroe and Hanford. "There is a physical process you've got to do ... and there is the mental thing, which is everything, believing anything can be done."
But first, the two teams endured an hour-long lightning delay at the end of the first quarter - with Kamiakin leading 7-0.
"We just went to the locker room and got our minds right - because they were not right in the first quarter," Jay said. "It was a nice stop to get reset."
Shortly before 9 p.m., the two teams returned - and the Mavericks scored two Brady Jay-to-Kyson Thomas passing touchdowns in the final 71/2 minutes of the first half to take a 15-7 lead.
"They just never stop working," Brett Jay said of his passing duo.
Even after Makram Altahir's second touchdown run for the Braves closed it to 15-14 at the 4:23 mark of the third quarter, the Moses Lake defense came up big with three turnovers - the last one on a fumble recovery in the final minute to seal the deal.
And now, Moses Lake sits at 2-0.
"This is a big deal for us," Jay said. "We knew Kamiakin was a great opponent. And I just think part of our journey is believing in ourselves and that we belong."
