WARDEN – The Warden Cougars football team started their season off strong with a 32-13 victory over Medical Lake as they push to solidify themselves as a top contender in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference. 

“It was pretty good,” said Cougars running back Danny Martinez. “First half blocks were settling in kind of flaky, but by the second half, they actually got good block,s they got a good hold and actually earned some yards.” 

The Cougars were the first to score that night with two touchdowns in the first quarter, giving them a 12-0 lead over Medical Lake early on. Following their second touchdown, the Cougars quickly regained possession of the ball after Luis Naranjo Cisneros recovered a fumble, scoring another touchdown. Medical Lake scored a touchdown in the second quarter, making the score 18-7 by the end of the half.  

Warden received the ball at the start of the second half, where they once again scored another touchdown and completed a two-point conversion, putting the team up 26-7. The Cougars’ defense held Medical Lake to only one more score for the rest of the game, and in the fourth quarter, the Cougars’ offense scored one more touchdown while running out the clock, making the final score 32-13.  

Martinez said that it felt great to start off the season with a victory and that the momentum felt by these players will give them leverage as they head into their week two matchup. 

Cougars’ head coach Brent Cox said that they had a rough start due to having to start multiple younger players, but those players stepped up at the perfect time and showed their skills. 

“I couldn’t be more proud (of) those freshmen that stepped in,” he said. “We rotated them through quite a bit, and kudos, what a great performance by our young guys.” 

One freshman player whose performance stood out in particular was that of Ryan Landeros. Cox said the defender showed grit in the game after coming out at one point bleeding and then immediately asking to get back out on the field once he was taken care of. 

The greatest lesson the Cougars can take out of this week one victory is to keep up the momentum throughout the full game in every game, he said.  

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said the coach. “We made a lot of mistakes and we had a lot of penalties, so just have to clean those up, but that comes from having those young guys. We’re there and we’re heading in the right direction.” 

Martinez, being a sophomore on the team, said that he and the other younger players are continuing to learn more about the game and are showing that they have the skills to assist the older players in the future. 

“I think they got motivation from this,” he said.  

Moving into next week, the Cougars will add experience to the success of the team’s victory, said Cox. Their week two matchup will see the return of some key players who were unable to play in week one. 

“It was a great win for the first time in my career as a football coach and the guys stepped up,” he said. 

The Cougars will be on the road this Friday where they will face off against Mossyrock at 5 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

WRDN: 12-6-8-6: 32
MDLK: 0-7-6-0: 13 

    Cougars running back Danny Martinez rushes past two Medical Lake defenders during the first half of the game. Martinez said that this game will give them momentum as they head into week two.
  

    Tight End Hunter Golladay stretches out his arms for extra yardage while being tackled by a Medical Lake defender. The Cougars are preparing to return multiple starters for their week two matchup against Mossyrock.
  

    Quarterback Kameron Jensen runs with the ball while pushing back a Medical Lake defender during the second half of the game. Cougars were up 18-7 by the end of the first half after two touchdowns and fumble recovery by the defense which led to another offensive score.
  

    Cougars cornerback Luis Naranjo Cisneros gives a thumbs up to his coaches on the sideline during the second half against Medical Lake. The corner recovered a fumble made by the Medical Lake offense, which led to the Cougars scoring a touchdown of their own.