GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic Prosser quarterback looks to throw against Ellensburg during a Mid-Valley League regular season game at Art Fiker Stadium.

A buddy once pointed out to Kellen Moore those
all-time top-five state lists in various offensive categories that take up two pages of the Gridiron Classic state-championship football program.

Suffice it to say that Prosser's junior quarterback didn't memorize the passing and receiving leaders. "Seems to me there was a lot of DeSales guys that did pretty well," he recalled this week, referring to the Class B-11 gridiron power.

Did he not know, then, that both he and sophomore receiver Cody Bruns are now showing up quite prominently on several of those lists?

"Uh ... no," Moore said. "Is that right?"

Oh, yes. The Moore-to-Bruns combo put up near-record-setting numbers for the 11-1 Mustangs, who will face reigning four-time Class 3A state champion Bellevue (9-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Kennewick's Lampson Stadium.

Moore's 53 touchdown passes this season rank second on the Washington all-time single-season list. So do Bruns' 23 TD receptions, which rank just one shy of the state record. The pair also rank in the top five of several other single-season categories — Moore in completions and passing yards, Bruns in receptions and receiving yards.

"They've earned that," said Moore's father and head coach, Tom Moore. "They've spent a lot of time at it and worked real hard at it. And, honestly, it's not a surprise."

Although Kellen Moore and Bruns were only teammates once before last year — six years ago for one Grid Kids season — the two have been friends since elementary school and have spent literally thousands of hours throwing and catching the football together.

"Off the field, we've always been great friends," Kellen Moore said. "During the summer, we'd throw three days a week sometimes. It was off the field where we bonded so much."

GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic Prosser's Cody Bruns tries to get away from Ellensburg's Dillon Roth after making a reception in a Mid-Valley League game at Art Fiker Stadium.

And while Moore has understandably gotten the lion's share of the attention this year, Bruns has been just as impressive. The son of former Mustang multi-sport standout Bucky Bruns, Cody has been Moore's big-play receiver, scoring seven of his 23 touchdowns on plays of 43 yards or longer.

"He's fast," said Moore, noting that Bruns has caught up with passes Moore was sure he had overthrown. "He's got such a quick burst and great control of his body, and he runs his routes."

And, as if being able to pass to the speedy Bruns, Serg Torres (41 catches, 621 yards, 5 TDs) and Danny Lochrie (33, 484, 5) isn't enough, Kellen Moore can now also turn up another ace in the hole — his younger brother, Kirby Moore.

The younger Moore is only a freshman, but he's big and physical (6-foot-3 and 190 pounds) and has been overpowering defensive backs since he returned two weeks ago after missing nearly a month with a broken hand. In the three games since he got back, Kirby Moore has caught 13 passes for 284 yards and seven touchdowns.

"Finally got a decent-sized target to throw to. It's like I'm throwing downhill sometimes," cracked Kellen Moore, nearly all of whose other receivers (including Bruns) are 5-11 or shorter.

Perhaps just as amazing as the prodigious numbers put up by Moore and his receivers is that Prosser is not even close to being a one-dimensional team.

The Mustangs averaged 200.4 rushing yards in 11 of their 12 games and feature a 1,350-yard rusher in Ivan Merino. The only time the offensive machine was shut down came Nov. 16 in a 35-28 non-league loss to Pullman, which gave up 309 passing yards to Moore but stymied the Mustangs on the ground, holding Merino and company to 18 net yards.

"You gotta give credit to the overall team," Kellen Moore said. "All the way through the year, the offensive line did a great job. And we've got so many receivers able to get open and make plays. If you want to double-team one guy, go ahead — because we've got plenty of other guys."

Yep. And a couple of them are making things a bit crowded for those DeSales guys at the top of the state record lists.