Mark Stewart is excited to be back in Wesco.
The former Meadowdale High School football coach who enjoyed sustained success with the Mavericks for 13 seasons has been hired to replace longtime Mariner football coach John Ondriezek.
Mariner athletic director Nate DuChesne announced the hire Tuesday.
Stewart, who has coached for more than 20 years, served as the defensive coordinator for the Marauders this past season.
“I’m excited to be back,” Stewart said. “Even last year, I was excited to be back in Wesco. Just being in the league where you know all the rivalries … it’s great. It feels like home. You know the coaches, even the officials.”
The former first-team All-America linebacker at the University of Washington has been the head coach at Renton, Meadowdale and Garfield. At Meadowdale, he posted an 87-49 record from 2000-2012 and took the Mavericks to the state playoffs seven times before departing for Garfield. He coached the Bulldogs for one season (2013) before resigning as head coach.
Soon after, Stewart found himself at Mariner.
“I live in the area and over the years when I was at Meadowdale, we didn’t play (Mariner) a lot,” he said. “(Ondriezek) always joked, ‘You should come over to Mariner.’ It wasn’t a thought for me at the time because I was at Meadowdale.”
After one year at Garfield — “It wasn’t a good fit for what I wanted to do,” Stewart said — he once again found himself talking with Ondriezek, who told him the offer to coach at Mariner was still good.
“Coming to Mariner as a coach and a teacher, I really fell in love with being here and with what John has done with the program,” Stewart said. “I had a lot of fun here.”
DuChesne informed the Mariner players of Stewart’s hiring after school on Tuesday.
“He got a standing ovation,” DuChesne said. “They (the players) are excited. That was a good confirmation for us.”
Stewart played linebacker for the University of Washington from 1979-82 under legendary Huskies coach Don James. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1983 and played two seasons in the NFL.
“Obviously, Mark Stewart’s background and coaching experience speak for itself,” DuChesne said. “We had an opportunity to hire him last year at the school and as our defensive coordinator. We feel very fortunate to have someone of his caliber as our new football coach. Mark lives in the Mariner community and connects really well with our kids. We expect to hit the ground running.”
The Marauders went 4-6 last season and qualified for the quad-district playoffs with a dramatic 41-40 victory over Snohomish in their regular-season finale
Ondriezek stepped down in December after 22 years as the Marauders coach.
“People don’t realize what he’s actually done,” Stewart said. “If you look at it, Coach Ondriezek has put numerous players in college. He’s really done a great job in building up a strong tradition. Kids play hard, they play physical and they enjoy the game. So I’m coming in and trying to keep that part of it going. Do it a little different, but hopefully keep that tradition.”
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