Football

Coach Daste was named the head coach in 2019 after joining the coaching staff in 2015. He is originally from San Dimas, California where he attended Damien Catholic High School. After high school, he was a student-athlete at the University of Washington, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography in 2002. Coach Daste earned four letters in football from the University of Washington. During his six seasons as a player and coach, the UW went to a bowl game each year, including the 2001 Rose Bowl. From 2003-09, Coach Daste was an assistant football coach at the University of Montana where he also assisted with the strength and conditioning program. In 2010, he joined UNLV in Las Vegas as an assistant football and strength coach until 2014.

Wes joined the EC football program in June 2022 after eight years working in Portland Public Schools in a variety of administrative and coaching roles including assistant athletic director, head football coach and assistant baseball coach. He coached football at Bellevue High School (1998-2009), the University of Montana Western (2010-2012), Portland State University (2013), and a Portland’s Lincoln High School (2014-2017) and Franklin High School (2018-2019).

Wes earned a master’s degree in exercise science with an emphasis in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine and a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Washington. In his spare time, Wes enjoys listening to Pearl Jam, fishing, camping, gardening, geography, ancient-and-megalithic-pre-history, trivia, beating his three younger brothers at Jeopardy and watching Star Wars with his son Xavier.

Coach John Thompson (JT) joined the Eastside Catholic football staff in 2022 as the varsity football offensive coordinator. A former collegiate athlete, he was a wide receiver at Washington State University from 2013 to 2017. As a player, he demonstrated exceptional skills on the field, allowing him to provide invaluable insights and mentorship to his wide receivers. Coach Thompson seamlessly transitioned into coaching, landing the wide receivers coaching position at Monroe High School (2020–2022). Coach Thompson holds a bachelor's degree in sports management from Washington State University.

Coach Fetui is back for his seventh season as an EC coach and his fifth as our varsity defensive line coach. His first two seasons at EC were spent as the head coach of our freshmen team. Prior to that, he served as head coach for the Sr. Division West Side Wildcats, where his team won back-to-back championships in the South King County Jr. Football League. Coach Fetui was born in America Samoa and raised in Seattle where he attended and played for West Seattle High School. He has been a great mentor for the Seattle Polynesian youths and tries to inspire them to be their best, on and off the field. He is married to Teresa Ann and has twin sons, Deion and Dominique, Class of 2015, are currently attending the United State Air Force Academy, where they also play football.

Coach Elisha Pa’aga ’14 is the throws coach for track and field. He is also an assistant coach for varsity football and the director of student life. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Central Washington University and joined the Student Life Department at EC in 2020. He played football for five years in college and his team won three conference championships.He participated in football, ASB leadership and choir as a student at EC. In his spare time, Elisha loves to play his guitar, sing and cook. His favorite part about working at EC is the people because they make everybody feel at home.

Coach Dwayne Pocknett joined the EC football staff in 2021. Coach Pocknett has been coaching in a variety of sports since 1995. He began his coaching career at Culver City High School coaching soccer and later football where he coached special teams and corners. He also coached at Redmond High School for one year and Monroe High School for four years. Coach Pocknett is father to Dwayne Pocknett Jr. ‘26.

Coach Thad Mallory ‘98 joined the staff in 2022 as the varsity assistant football coach. As an alum of EC, Coach Mallory is familiar with the school's football program, traditions and values. Coach Mallory’s coaching career began at Bellevue High School, where he was the defensive line coach from 2001 to 2009. In 2002, he graduated from the University of Washington. Coach Mallory met his wife, Lisa, as a student at EC and his three sons plan to attend as well.

Blake Bentz is a seasoned football coach specializing in offensive line techniques and development. His coaching career began at UCLA, where he held various roles from 2011 to 2016, including operations and recruiting assistant, offensive analyst and assistant offensive line coach. In 2016, his dedication to coaching continued at East Los Angeles Junior College as an assistant offensive line coach. He later moved to Bellevue Junior Football taking on significant roles as defensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Since 2022, Blake has focused on training offensive linemen at all levels, including high school, college and the NFL, aiming to enhance players’ skills and on-field performance.