It wasn’t long into the 2026 season that you knew the Moses Lake offense would be a little bit different this season.

First game, in fact.

In an opening victory against Mid-Columbia Conference perennial contender Richland, the Mavericks ran the ball 31 times against the Bombers for 173 yards and three touchdowns in coach Kyler Haneberg’s debut.

The carries and yards represent 21% and 17% of their 2025 regular-season totals, respectively.

Three weeks later, after a 58-22 victory against Wenatchee, Haneberg joked that he couldn’t let former coach – and architect of the Mavs’ pass-happy offense – Brett Jay see how many times Moses Lake ran the ball.

The Mavericks ran for 383 yards on 40 carries against the Panthers, including Elijah Burns’ school-record 309 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries.

Eastmont, too, under first-year coach Rory Rosenbach has made its offense more balanced. A year after running the ball more than three times as much as they threw it, the Wildcats have cut that ratio to about 1 ½ to 1.

What hasn’t changed for the two programs, however, is their position in the CBBN standings. Both teams are 4-0 in conference heading into Friday night’s showdown at Lions Field in Moses.

For the fourth straight season the matchup will produce the conference champion. The Wildcats won the 2023 championship in coach Mike Don’s final season.

The Mavericks followed with back-to-back titles, including last year’s historic run to the quarterfinals in which quarterback Brady Jay rewrote the program’s passing record book inder coach and father Brett Jay.

Moses Lake’s shift in part has been out of necessity. The younger Jay was a three-year starter, and the ground game – particularly Burns – allows the Mavs to ease junior Nolan Decubber into a starting role.

“Having a new QB this year, it’s something we knew we haveto lean on him,” Haneberg said of Burns. “Having him back there helps Nolan.”

Burns was used sparingly, while recovering from a leg injury for which he still wears a brace.

“Once we got to league, we were like there’s no holding back now,” Haneberg said. “Pregame against Wenatchee, I told him, ‘You’re going to eat.’”

Don’t think Moses Lake (6-1 overall) is suddenly three yards and a cloud of dust, however. Decubber already has thrown for 24 touchdowns and nearly 1,400 yards.

Eastmont, likewise, won’t be confused for an Air Raid offense quite yet.

Against West Valley, when the Rams took a two-score lead buoyed by a pick-six and kickoff return for a score, the last unbeaten 4A or 3A team east of the Cascades rode the ground game – 52 carries for 262 yards and four TDs – to a 39-33 comeback victory two weeks ago.

“We still have the ability to do a lot of the gap-scheme stuff, it’s a pretty easy crossover,” Rosenbach said. “The surface looks different, but the general rules are the same.”

Rosenbach won a pair of Oregon state championships at Marist Catholic to start his coaching career. He then returned to his native Snohomish and built the Glacier Peak program into a Wesco contender, before again heading south and winning the 4A championship at Vancouver’s Union High School in 2018.

A second home in Wenatchee-area Orondo helped nudge him back to the sidelines after stepping into administration.

“Every place has their own flavor, every place is a little different,” Rosenbach said. “This place has been fantastic.”

It’s much the same cast for the Wildcats that led them to a 4-2 league record last season. No extreme makeover was needed to diversify the offense from years of the wing-T.

“It’s not by design, it just happens to be working that way, which is cool,” Rosenbach said. “It starts with having good kids.”

Players have welcomed the move.

“We get to loosen things up, and get my guys the ball a little bit,” junior quarterback Austin Zelinski said. “I got to work with Coach (Rosenbach) over the summer, working on schemes and watching film. It’s almost muscle memory at this point.”

Both teams already have earned two of the conference’s four spots in the round of 32, and will look to better their possible seeding the next two weeks.

And, as has become a yearly occurrence, decide the league championship.

“It’s been enjoyable to have someone to circle and look forward to, and respect the hell out of them,” Haneberg said.