MOSES LAKE – Any concerns about the Moses Lake football team in the post-Brady Jay era were put to rest Friday night at Lions Field.

The sixth-ranked Mavericks under first-year coach Kyler Haneberg are just fine – and plenty physical.

With linebackers Petrah Mackenzie and John Rainey pulling double duty and inflicting punishment on both sides of the ball, and Nolan Debubber shining in his first start at quarterback, Moses Lake pulled away from Mid-Columbia Conference hopeful Richland 34-14 in a key nonleague opener.

“Going out before the game the last thing I said was, ‘make these guys bleed,’” Haneberg said. “If you’re going to play Moses Lake, you’re going to feel Moses Lake.”

Little doubt that the 10th-ranked Bombers did, especially from the Mavs’ new offensive wrinkle – Mackenzie, a 220-pound wrecking ball, and Rainey, the chiseled 195-pounder who won the CBBN Defensive Player of the Year.

The duo got going early, with Rainey taking a third-and-16 handoff, and rumbling 28 yards for the game’s first score midway through the first quarter.

Decubber, who showed poise and pin-point accuracy, delivered a 32-yard scoring strike to fellow junior Grady Green to give the two-time defending CBBN champion a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.

“He was composed, had some big throws and some through some tight windows,” said Haneberg, an offensive assistant on last season's team that advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.

The Bombers, state-qualifiers a season ago themselves, fired back behind all-MCC first-team quarterback Jackson Woodard. With scoring strikes of 66 and 9 yards to Pierson Bryant, Richland tied the score with less than 3 minutes left in the first half.

A three-and-out by Moses Lake gave the ball back to the Bombers. Woodard then found Micah Mayer for a 37-yard play down the sideline, and Richland was back in business.

The drive reached the 13-yard line before having to settle for a field goal, which was no good as time expired in the first half.

It was the best scoring threat the Bombers would have until the final minutes of the game.

“Our defensive staff did a helluva job fixing it at halftime,” Haneberg said. “We knew they were going to be good and they came out ready to go. We got punched in the face and we were able to punch back.”

Moses Lake took the second half kickoff and drove 68 yards, with Case Anderson taking a short Decubber pass 44 yards for a score and a 21-14 lead.

On the next drive, a penalty would nullify a Mavericks interception, giving Richland the ball at the Moses Lake 34.

But on the next play, two-way all-leaguer Taggart Rathbun picked off a Woodward pass, and this one would stand.

Moses Lake drove 84 yards for another score. Mackenzie romped 28 yards, flattening a Richland defender along the way, and the Mavs increased their lead 27-14.

“Our running back coach Anthony Thomas has those guys prepared so well," Haneberg said.

Rainey would cap the scoring in the fourth with a 14-yard scoring run.

Moses Lake heads to Coeur d’Alene next Friday, while Richland hosts third-ranked Graham-Kapowsin the same night. The Hawks were edged 31-28 by No. 1 Lake Stevens, last year’s state runner-up.

The Mavericks won their first 11 games last year with Jay throwing a state-record 72 touchdown passes for coach and father Brett Jay.