WARDEN — The Warden Cougars are striving to go above and beyond this season and bring up a new love for football in the community.

“I’m ready to get some dubs, have some good times with my teammates and make lots of memories,” said junior Kameron Jensen, Cougars quarterback.

For senior tight end Hunter Golladay, this season will be about returning to full swing following an injury that took him out of the final three weeks last season. He said that he broke his kneecap and irritated an old tear in his meniscus and made a full recovery in the spring, just in time to prepare for the fall season.

“I’ve just been working out, just keep going and not really thinking about it because if you worry about it, it’s going to happen again,” said Golladay.

 The Cougars are going into this season with a new head coach, former Warden Athletic Director Brent Cox. Cox said last year the Cougars were a middle-of-the-pack team, ending their season 5-5.

“We just seemed to always be at the .500 mark or fourth in league, and that’s a little bit frustrating,” he said. “But ... we’ve got a tough league, and we have a lot of good programs in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference so it’s time to extend that a little more.”

Cox said the greatest challenge coming into the season as a new head coach was trying to get both himself and the players on the same page. As practices went on, he said the process of bringing the team together has been great and that the players have already shown how much dedication they have to the sport.

The Cougars graduated 10 seniors during the off-season, with five playing in lineman positions. Practices leading up to the regular season have been set to focus on building up the new linemen to varsity level and building up the skills necessary to protect the quarterback, said Cox.

He said this year’s Cougars team will consist of younger players coming up as freshmen, but it will still have a good chunk of experienced players with seven seniors on the team.

“It’s not as many seniors as last year, but all those seniors are good athletes, so I’m not too concerned in that area,” Cox said.

As practices progress, Cox said he’ll be able to build the roster and each player to the best of their abilities.

The goal for this season is for the Cougars team to strive to be better each day. Cox said it is always hard for teams experiencing so much change in the offseason to prepare for the regular season, but he believes in the dedication that the players have shown so far and will strive for the team to consistently compete and improve.

“Our goal is to not be 5-5, we want to be 6-4 or 7-3,” he said. “(We’re) trying to get better and better every season, and as these kids buy into that program, know what we’re doing and what we’re trying to accomplish, I think that’s a very doable goal for us.”

Cox said he is most looking forward to coaching the players in a way that makes them love to play football. He also wants to instill in the players the self-confidence to go out onto the field and represent themselves and their community.

“I want them to be able to go out and compete and love to compete, represent their school and bring some pride back into being a Warden Cougar, putting on that blue-and-white uniform and going out and competing for their school and for themselves,” he said.

The Warden Cougars’ first game of the season will be on the road against Cashmere on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.

    Cougars players line up and participate in an exercise where the players start on the ground in a push-up position and run from one side of the field to the other. Coach Brent Cox said the team is already beginning to come together and show strong dedication.
  

    Cougars players gather around Coach Brent Cox following their morning practice and discuss the plan for evening practice.
  

    Warden’s Hunter Golladay begins sprinting at the end of the line during one of their workouts. Golladay is looking to return for his senior season following an injury that ended his season last year.
  

    Cougars players sprint to the other side of the field during one of their morning practices. Coach Brent Cox said he is working to build up both the players and the football culture in Warden.
  

    Hunter Golladay (16) runs toward the corner of the end zone on an eight-yard touchdown run last year. Golladay returns to the Cougars squad as a senior this year.
  

    Warden players clap in celebration during a game last year.
 Aaron Leavitt   

    Warden defenders combine for a sack against River View last year.