Ever since Brady Jay could walk, he has bonded with his dad, Brett, over the game of football.

The Moses Lake senior quarterback and head coach have been practically inseparable since Brett Jay began his coaching career at his alma mater, River View, in 2008.

“I always had a lanyard hanging out of my pocket during practice, and Brady would hang onto it to stay near me,” Brett recalled. “He loved being on the field when he was little, and we’re still out there together after all these years.”

One of Brady’s fondest memories from his childhood was shadowing his dad on the football field. He eventually became a ball boy and started running the offense for his dad’s Grid Kids teams when the family lived in Monroe in 2014.

“I have always had a love for the game,” said Brady, who will lead the No. 7 seed Mavericks into Saturday’s Class 4A state quarterfinal matchup against second-seeded Lake Stevens. “From a really young age, I remember being on the field with my dad, and it just grew from there.”

Another father-son tandem in Central Washington is gearing up for a Class 2A quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon in Yakima. Senior quarterback Jaxon Berg will lead No. 3 seed East Valley against No. 6 Lynden while his father, Eric, patrols the sidelines.

The Bergs can also trace their football connection back to Jaxon’s formative years, and their partnership has only grown stronger as their careers have progressed.

“I’ve been coaching Jaxon since he played flag football at 5 years old,” said Eric Berg, now in his 10th year as Red Devils head coach. “It’s crazy to think it’s going to be coming to an end soon. We’re just trying to cherish the rest of the time we have on the field together.”

Jaxon remembers joining his dad and brothers, Aiden and Karter, on the sidelines as a ball boy when he was in elementary school. He started playing quarterback for his second-grade Grid Kids team, also coached by his dad, and continued to excel at every level.

“I was around football so much early in my life that I knew what to expect once I started playing for the high school,” said Jaxon, the CWAC Offensive MVP who has thrown for 6,380 yards and 88 touchdowns in three years as the starting QB. “The atmosphere can take some getting used to, but I was exposed to it early on, so it felt pretty natural.”

Like East Valley’s starting signal-caller, Brady Jay always knew he would be playing for his dad once he got to high school. Everything seemed to line up perfectly in 2021 when Brett left Hanford to take the head coaching job at Moses Lake.

Brady was in eighth grade and had been running the “Air Raid” offense his dad implemented at each of his high school and youth football teams before he took over the Mavericks program.

“It was always my plan to play for my dad,” said Brady, who has racked up a jaw-dropping 3,714 yards and 66 touchdowns this season. “We have a good relationship on and off the field, and I feel like he’s always there for me. He gives me a lot of confidence.”

Coach Jay conceded that the two have “had our moments,” but when you spend as much time together as they do, that’s to be expected.

“There’s no question that I pushed him from the time he was little,” said Brett, a former standout quarterback himself. “There have been times where our conversations have spilled onto the practice field, but that’s just part of it. I think it actually ended up making us closer.”

Brady began showing his athletic prowess from the time he suited up for the Monroe Bearcats in first grade. He also played basketball and baseball, but his true passion was football.

“I always wanted to be a quarterback,” the University of Montana recruit said. “I was a good all-around athlete, but I really liked that position and started focusing on it from the beginning.”

The same can be said about Jaxon Berg, whose natural leadership abilities helped him gain the confidence of his teammates and coaches from a young age. Going back to his Grid Kids days, he proved that he could run a complex offensive system effectively.

“My brother (Aiden) also played quarterback, and I really looked up to him,” he said. “Between him and my dad, I learned everything I needed to know when it was my turn.”

Coach Berg explained that he always let Jaxon and his four other kids decide what they wanted to do. As a football guy himself, he naturally instilled a love for the game in his sons. But their decision to play high school football was entirely their own.

“I tell my boys that just because I’m the coach doesn’t mean you have to play,” said Eric, who played and coached football at Sunnyside. “My wife and I encourage our kids to stay active and do as much as they can, but we don’t dictate what they can and can’t do. The biggest thing is for them to be happy — even if it’s not playing sports. As long as they’re learning and growing, we will support them.”

Both the Bergs and Jays are hoping their teams can make history this Saturday when they take their respective 11-0 records into the state quarterfinals. East Valley reached the state championship game in 2004, falling to rival Othello, while Moses Lake has two runner-up finishes on its résumé (1999 and 2004).

The Red Devils and Mavericks are hoping this could be the year the football gods shine down upon them. But whatever happens Saturday, it’s been an amazing ride.

“We’ve gone through our ups and downs, but that has only helped strengthen our bond,” Brett Jay said. “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.”

Likewise, Eric and Jaxon Berg couldn’t have dreamed of a better finish to their 12-year run together on the gridiron.

“Everything has gone the way we hoped, and we’re going to try to keep it going against Lynden,” Eric said. “But none of this has come easy. This is the product of years of hard work and dedication. It’s not something that’s just happening; it’s something these kids have built toward, and it’s pretty awesome to see it all come together.”