by Malcolm Butler
Mark Ware is a difference maker.
He may not want any of the credit, but the veteran high school coach has already made a huge impact in a very short time since returning to the Cedar Creek sideline this summer.
And if two games into the 2026 season are any indication, the Cougars’ defense has Ware’s fingerprints all over it.
The latest evidence came Friday night at Origin Bank Stadium, where Cedar Creek held St. Frederick to 148 yards on 48 offensive plays in a 32-10 victory.
The Cougars recorded nine tackles for loss and one sack while shutting out the Warriors over the final three quarters after trailing 10-6 at the end of the first.
Not bad against a St. Frederick team that ended Cedar Creek’s season with a 49-6 playoff win last November.
“Our defense was swarming to the ball, taking away plays that last year in the playoff game they absolutely gashed us on,” Cedar Creek head coach Jacob Angevine said. “Our guys, they had that taste in their mouth from last year. They didn’t forget about it.”
Ware previously spent five years as Cedar Creek’s defensive coordinator before leaving to serve in the same role at West Monroe. After two years with the Rebels, the veteran coach returned to Cedar Creek this summer to once again run the Cougars’ defense.
The results are already showing.
Perhaps no sequence Friday night illustrated it better than a second-quarter stand deep in Cedar Creek territory.
With St. Frederick already leading 10-6 and threatening from around the Cedar Creek 10-yard line following a turnover, the Warriors had an opportunity to take control of the game.
Ware’s defense didn’t let them. St. Fred’s was forced to attempt a field goal on fourth down and came up empty.
“Things weren’t going our way, and we needed something good to happen,” Ware said. “The kids bowed up down here, I think, about the 10-, 12-yard line, and just made some great tackles, some good one-on-one plays.
“And then the whole game changed.”
The Cedar Creek defense struck again in the third quarter.
With the Cougars clinging to a 12-10 lead, Case Phillips intercepted a St. Frederick pass. Phillips lost the football during the return, but a Cedar Creek teammate scooped it up and carried it into the end zone to extend the advantage to 19-10.
“That was colossal,” Ware said. “It was a play that we needed at that time. We felt like we were in control of the game, but we needed something to get us up two scores on them.”
Junior defensive back Micah Taylor was another key piece of Ware’s game plan.
With Cedar Creek’s safeties responsible for defending the pitch against St. Frederick’s option attack, Ware asked Taylor to handle one of the Warriors’ top receiving threats largely in man-to-man coverage. Taylor responded with six tackles, including one for loss, while holding his own in coverage.
“Micah Taylor’s a very good defensive back, and he played a terrific football game,” Ware said.
Taylor said Ware has brought something else back to the Cedar Creek defense.
Intensity.
“Last year, our defense was great, but you didn’t have that intensity, that drive to keep pushing,” Taylor said. “Like last year, after the first half, we would kind of let off the pedal a little bit.
“But today, we had the pedal to the metal the whole game. We came out firing on all cylinders.”
Senior safety Brett Bell, who contributed two tackles defensively while also rushing for 185 yards and two touchdowns at quarterback, pointed to Ware’s discipline.
“He brings a lot of energy to the table,” Bell said. “He’s really disciplined, and you saw that tonight. We kept them to 10 points. That just tells you who Coach Ware is right there.”
Angevine believes Ware’s ability to demand plenty from his players while making sure they know he cares about them has helped create the buy-in.
“What I love about Mark is he will be the first guy to go up and love whoever he just ripped a new one,” Angevine said. “You’ve got to have a guy that the kids trust, the kids love, and Mark’s one of those guys.
“He’ll be the first one to chew on somebody, but also be the first one to love them up.”
Ware, predictably, pointed much of the credit elsewhere.
He praised Cedar Creek’s young defensive assistants for believing in the system and teaching the details, while crediting a group of players he believes has developed enough depth that the Cougars no longer have to depend on only a handful of individuals to make plays.
“They believe in what we’re doing. We believe in them,” Ware said. “Instead of having three or four that can make plays, we have a lot of kids that can make plays for us, and that’s huge.”
Ware may not want the credit. But through two games, his defense is making it increasingly difficult for him to avoid it.
