Ellensburg confirmed Monday morning the hiring of Granger native Ryker Ely as its next football coach.

Ely replaces Zeke Fife, who resigned earlier this month and has relocated to Texas after leading the Bulldogs the past two seasons. Ellensburg finished 2-8 overall and 2-6 in CWAC play in each of those seasons.

Stat Hound first reported the hiring Friday morning. Ely, who was married to Julie Gray this past weekend in Ellensburg, confirmed his imminent move to take the program’s reins.

“Our committee was intentional throughout this process in identifying a coach who could positively impact our student-athletes both as competitors and as young people,” Ellensburg athletic director Cole Kanyer said in a release. “Coach Ely's leadership, vision, and commitment to developing culture stood out from the very beginning, and we are excited to see him lead Bulldog football into its next chapter.

“This is an exciting time for our football program. Coach Ely understands the responsibility that comes with leading one of the flagship programs in our athletic department, and we are confident he will work tirelessly to build a program that our players, families, alumni, and community can be proud of.”

Ely, a 2013 Granger High School graduate and son of longtime Spartans coach Gary Ely, spent last season as the defensive coordinator for Toppenish. The Wildcats were 4-6 overall and 3-5 in conference, a game ahead of Ellensburg in the CWAC standings.

Prior to Toppenish, Ely spent three seasons as the head coach at Mabton, helping with the transition to eight-man football in his season, when the Vikings finished third in the Southeast 1B Grape behind state powers Liberty Christian and DeSales.

Ely played quarterback in his father’s ground-oriented attack, and also played defensive back. He returned to Granger after graduating from Eastern Oregon, where he played receiver for two years before retiring due to injury, and was an assistant on the Spartans staff for a season.

He then was at Kittitas for five years, serving as offensive coordinator and special teams coach, before taking the Mabton post.

Ely will be the third coach since Randy Affholter left the school.

Affholter, who is enjoying a strong run at Kennewick, was 162-75 in 22 seasons leading the Bulldogs, reaching the state semifinals four times and the quarterfinals eight times.

Ellensburg is 23-40 in the seven seasons since Affholter departed.

The Bulldogs will travel to Othello and Grandview in the first two weeks of the season. Both programs also will have first-year coaches.

Hall of Fame coach Roger Hoell retired after leading the Huskies for 31 years, and racking up 238 victories, including two state championships.

Othello hired Jerome Learman, who has spent the last four years as the director of applied performance science for the University of Tennessee football team in Knoxville.

Grandview made Beau Riley, who assisted on various staffs in Texas. The replacement for Alex Jeffrey. Riley’s wife had received a promotion in the medical field that brought the family to the area.