WARDEN — There will be a new head coach patrolling the sidelines at Warden High School this fall, as South Africa native Dallyn McLean takes over the Cougar football program.

McLean grew up playing rugby before moving to America to play the sport at the collegiate level. After getting a taste of the high school football lifestyle in Idaho, he’s been hooked ever since.

“We went to our first high school football game, and I was blown away,” McLean said. “I went to the head coach and said, ‘I want to do this, I want to coach football.’”

After spending three years as an assistant coach at Idaho’s Rigby High School, McLean moved to Moses Lake where he was a defensive backs coach for the Mavericks in 2021. While football and rugby share the same contact sport similarity, McLean said there’s a lot more to do from the sidelines as a coach.

“Football and rugby, they’re both contact sports, but there’s a lot more coaching input in football,” McLean said. “I really enjoy that.”

The Cougars are coming off a 4-6 season, finishing fourth in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference (East). With a strong focus on off-season work, players are looking forward to entering the 2023 season.

“I’m very excited,” senior Rafael Elizarraraz said. “We have a new coach, a new team — we’re really striving for winning. (McLean) has been installing that mindset of we’re going to be great, and I think once all the guys get on the same page we’re going to be great.”

Much of the returning Cougar offensive line are seniors, which will help guide the team’s freshman quarterback.

“We’ve got some size now,” Elizarraraz said. “We definitely are bigger, but we’re still making improvements. We’re definitely going to be (knocking people down), we’ve got some big guys. Guys have been putting in work, you love to see that.”

Freshman Kam Jensen will be lining up under center for Warden this season, a position he’s spent the whole summer preparing for. Jensen said he, along with many of his fellow Cougars, have spent time bonding during off-season lifts and spring practices.

“It really helps, because then we all get together and push each other, kind of like what we’re going to do on the field this season,” Jensen said. “When we’re pushing each other we get closer, so that’s how I bonded with the senior guys.”

McLean said the team’s buy-in has been a strong suit, something that’s been formed throughout the course of the off-season. The new head coach said he’s taken lessons learned from the two head coaches at his previous stops — Rigby High School’s Armando Gonzalez and Moses Lake’s Brett Jay — and used that to get players excited for the upcoming season.

As a result, the Cougars had full participation at spring practices and a strong number of players participating in the weight room. A number of the team’s seniors also traveled to Seattle for a camp at the University of Washington.

“I’ve looked at what those head coaches have done, what I’ve seen them do over the past five years that I’ve been coaching, and I’ve been taking the best aspects from my mentors and tried to apply it to everything I do.”

McLean shared his belief in making certain the entire roster is up to snuff, not just the starters on the field. Throughout practices, the first-year head coach can be seen coaching up the second and third-string players, while his assistant coaches work with the first team during team practice sessions.

“Growing up myself in middle school, I wasn’t a starter,” McLean said. “I had one coach once show a little bit more belief in me, and as soon as I reached high school I was a freshman playing varsity rugby. That wouldn’t have happened if that coach didn’t (do that), and I’m hoping that showing a little more belief in these younger guys — the more they can push our (first team), the better they are.”

Warden begins its 2023 campaign on the road against White Swan on Sept. 1. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

“Right now, my coaching philosophy is always growing,” McLean said. “My foundations to my coaching is you’ve got to get better every day. I tell the boys a lot, ‘10% better every time,’ and by the time the end of the week comes we’re a lot better than where we’d come from.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Warden Football Schedule

Sept. 1 — @ White Swan — 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 — @ Wahluke — 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 — vs. Kiona-Benton — 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 — vs. Granger — 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 — vs. River View — 7 p.m.

Oct. 5 — @ Columbia (Burbank) — 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 — vs. Tri-Cities Prep — 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 — @ North Central — 2 p.m.

Oct. 27 — vs. Mabton — 7 p.m.