Prep football: New Warriors coach ready to rebuild stability after roller coaster season

One year ago, anticipation was building for the start of the 2024 Edmonds-Woodway Warriors high school football season. A new coach had been hired and hopes were high for a successful season, maybe even a push deep into the state playoffs.

But things quickly turned when, after five games (and just one win), Coach Bill Marsh abruptly resigned, changed his cell phone number and never made public his reasons for leaving.

The departure left players, coaches and fans stunned. Former long-time E-W coach John Gradwohl was coaxed out of retirement to lead the team through the remainder of the season, but the damage had been done and a proud Warrior program was shaken.

Now, with a new head coach, E-W football looks to heal, grow and surprise any doubters that the Warriors are back.

Joe Roth, a former assistant coach in the Warrior program, has taken the reins of the rattled team and wants to redirect it back to what made it successful during the many years that Coach Gradwohl was at the helm.

“It’s the culture and the people,” said Roth, when asked what drew him back to Edmonds-Woodway after being away for six years. “Gradwohl is a good friend of mine; he’s a terrific human being. So I’m just taking over that legacy. (That) is what really intrigued me.”

Roth, a 2006 graduate of Arlington High School — and member of successful Eagles’ teams back in his prep playing days — served as an assistant under Gradwohl at E-W from 2014 through 2019. He most recently was an assistant coach at Stanwood High School, but is now a committed member of the E-W community — even moving his family to Edmonds from their previous home in Stanwood over the summer.

“As soon as I got it (the E-W coaching job), I put the house (in Stanwood) on the market,” Roth said.

With years being involved in highly successful programs at Arlington and Stanwood, Roth has experience with the X’s and O’s of high school football. But he knows that his biggest challenge now may be in restoring faith in a program damaged by the emotional roller coaster that 2024 turned out to be for the Edmonds-Woodway faithful.

When a coach leaves without notice in the middle of the season, “you lose all trust in the program,” Roth said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. So it’s like the freshmen guys that were out, they don’t want to go in for that for the next year because they don’t know; there’s no stability.”

“The guys who were here last year, losing,” Roth continued, “they don’t want to stick around. So our numbers are down because of that, for sure. So I’ve got to rebuild that trust, rebuild the structure, rebuild the integrity of the program, rebuild the standards — it all comes into it.”

While the task of restoration may seem daunting, Roth does have the endorsement of his former boss in the program.

“I’ve known Joe for 10 to 12 years,” Gradwohl said. “He is awesome, highly motivated, smart, organized and is all about helping kids in all aspects of their lives. He is excited to be in Edmonds and he’ll do a great job.”

Gradwohl believes Roth is just the right man to bring some stability to a football program that took some hard blows in 2024.

“He’s a great guy, great football coach and is going to be there a long time,” Gradwohl said. “I am so happy for him and the program. Last year will be a blip on the radar; he’s moving it on in a positive way.”

To help with the transition to a new era in E-W football, Roth is returning a number of assistant coaches from previous years, in addition to adding a few new names to the Warrior assistant coaching ranks.

Markkus Ellis, a long-time assistant coach at Arlington and good friend of Roth, is now in the Warrior fold, as is Kyle Benn, a 2001 graduate of the University of Washington who was a three-year starter for the Huskies and an All-Pac 12 honoree during his senior year.

Dominic Lawrence, a 2018 graduate of Edmonds-Woodway and standout in the Warrior football program, has also come on board as an assistant coach.

“We’ve got a terrific coaching staff who have put a lot of time and effort into these kids,” Roth said.

While Roth isn’t ready to predict what kind of success the team may have on the field this year, he does expect his Warriors to be competitive against even their toughest opponents. (Five of E-W’s nine scheduled contests this year are against teams that had winning records in 2024.)

For now, Roth is excited about what he is seeing during preseason practices leading up to their 2025 opener on Sept. 5.

“It’s a terrific group,” Roth said. “We have a football team; I’m telling you, we’ve got a football team!”

To begin the 2025 campaign, the Roth-led Edmonds-Woodway Warriors will host the Lindbergh Eagles on Friday, Sept. 5; kickoff at Edmonds Stadium is slated for 8 p.m.