WARDEN – The Cougars notched their first league win of the season Friday night, defeating River View 28-6 to improve to 4-1 midway through the season. 

Warden scored touchdowns on their first two offensive drives, as the Cougars shut out the Panthers in the first half. 

“It came down to the boys knowing that their jobs and responsibilities were, and they executed the things we told them to do all week in practice,” Head Coach Dallyn McLean said.  

After junior Rhett Jorgensen opened scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter, the Warden defense stopped a River View fourth down attempt from deep in its own territory; three plays later, junior Hunter Golladay added another touchdown on an eight-yard carry. 

The Cougars held a 14-0 lead at halftime with their stifling defense recording three sacks in the first half, two of which were by senior TJ Visker. The senior finished the game with three of Warden’s seven sacks. 

“With them having a dynamic quarterback back there, we knew we had to put him under pressure – we don’t want him to sit in the pocket,” McLean said. “The more time he has in the pocket to make those throws, he’s going to make them. Credit goes to the D-line, they really opened up the O-line.” 

In the second half, senior Elijah Ruiz reached the end zone in the third quarter and fellow senior Junior Santiago scored on an interception returned for a touchdown in the final frame to give the Cougars their eventual 28-6 win. 

“Going into the second half, we knew that their run game wasn’t going to be their focus, and they were really going to throw the ball,” McLean said. “We made sure our players stayed in their zones, picked up their man when we needed them to.” 

Warden ran the ball for 274 yards on Friday night, 116 of which came in the first half. 

“Once we knew we could move the ball effectively running, it’s a really good feeling when you can do something so effectively so early in the game,” McLean said. “You can take a step back and say, ‘We know we can do this, let’s see what else we can do.’” 

With the win, Warden reached 4-1 with a 1-1 record in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference. Up next on the schedule is a road clash against a non-league opponent in the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos. 

“We showed a little bit (of what we can do) against River View, and I hope we can build on that momentum and reach our full potential going into the end half of the season,” McLean said. 

Box Score 

RVW: 0-0-0-6 6
WRD: 14-0-7-7 28 

    Warden senior TJ Visker, right, forces a fumble on River View’s first offensive drive of the game. The Cougars had seven sacks on Friday night, three of which came from Visker.
  

    Warden junior Rhett Jorgensen, in blue, carries the ball into the end zone against Rivew View on Friday.