Wednesday, November 04, 2026
37.0°F

'Let's take it beyond that'

CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
by CALEB PEREZ
| August 21, 2025 3:15 AM

WARDEN – Former Warden Athletic Director Brent Cox has been selected as the new head football coach at Warden High School. 

“I’m happy to be head coach, and I want these kids to compete and get after it,” said Cox. “We’ve got to change the culture a little bit around Warden and get these kids thinking bigger, instead of just being part of a football team, I want them to be part of a winning program.” 

Cox said he is a graduate of Warden and has worked as a middle school coach, assistant football coach, and wrestling head coach over the years, along with being the athletic director. When the position of head football coach opened during the offseason, he decided that it was time for him to take on a new coaching experience once again.  

As the new head coach, he said he hopes to begin building a culture like he did with the wrestling program during his time as coach. He said he wants to bring love for the sport back for both the athletes and the community. 

“When I was a wrestling coach, I wanted these kids to grow up and be good sons and good fathers, and that’s what I want to do for this football program,” said Cox. 

During the first year, he said he is just planning on putting a focus on discipline and making the players accountable for what they’re doing. 

“We always want to just go out and win games, and that’s easy to say, but my biggest thing is I want these kids to grow up, have love for this sport and be able to have a good experience that they want this sport to be part of their lives,” said Cox. 

Warden plays in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference, which has historically been a tough league in the 2B, he said. Going forward, he would like the team to make deeper runs into the playoffs and put more points on the board. 

“It always just seems like we’re in the middle of the pack and I’m ready for this football team to grow and be better than that,” said Cox. “We’ve always been around .500 for many seasons, and it’s like, ‘Let’s take it beyond that.’” 

Warden High School began its first football practices of the year with “two-a-days" starting Wednesday and will continue with those until Saturday. 

ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ

Mavs claim District 5 swim and dive title
November 4, 2026 3 a.m.

Mavs claim District 5 swim and dive title

MOSES LAKE — The series of successful meets this season fully paid off for the Moses Lake Mavericks girls swim team over the weekend as the girls claimed the District 5 title. By the end of Saturday, the Mavs won the district meet with a score of 466 to Wenatchee's 449. "Just as we expected with Wenatchee, it was close all the way to the end. Could have gone either way, but it went our way," said Mavs Head Coach Tony Preston. "The girls were super excited to get their district championship."

Tigers qualify both boys and girls teams to state
November 4, 2026 3 a.m.

Tigers qualify both boys and girls teams to state

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers Cross Country team continued their successful season in the District 5 and 6 Championships Saturday afternoon. Both the boys and girls had strong races to qualify for state with the boys taking third and the girls taking second. Tigers Head Coach Lyndsy Roberts said because of their high ranking all season the girls team set their sights high on the district meet. Heading into Saturday, they knew their toughest challenge would be against Ellensburg, who has been ranked second in the state all season.

Knights battle into district championships
November 3, 2026 3 a.m.

Knights battle into district championships

ROYAL CITY — The second seeded Royal Knights (16-2-1) battled in a tight matchup against the third seeded Naches Valley Saturday afternoon in the district semifinals. Both teams put forward a strong effort, with the Knights securing a 1-0 victory. "We were all putting our heart out in this game and trying our best because we have a really good team this year," said Knights junior Sofia Villafana. "We were just giving it our all." The tone of the game was set from the very start as Royal and Naches Valley went back and forth on their attack. While the Knights controlled the ball for most of the first half, Naches Valley's defense kept things in check.