GREEN RIVER — Blaine Christensen has stepped down as head coach of the Green River Wolves football program, closing a chapter that saw the team return to the playoffs and re-establish a sense of pride within the community.
Christensen and his family will be moving to Riverton. His wife Jordan will serve as a social studies teacher at Riverton High School. Christensen will take a position as a special education teacher at Rendezvous Elementary School and will reunite with Riverton head football coach Mark Lenhardt.
Lenhardt and Christensen previously coached together at Rock Springs, where Lenhardt was the head coach and Christensen an assistant. That staff helped lead the Tigers to a state championship appearance in 2021. Sincer taking over in Riverton, Lenhardt has guided the Wolverines to three consecutive playoff appearances, including semifinal runs in each of the past two seasons.
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Christensen’s departure comes after a season in which Green River reached the playoffs for the first time in eight years and recorded its most wins since 2017. The Wolves also made significant strides offensively, scoring 226 points this season after averaging 110 points per year from 2018 through 2024.
“It was my goal to get this team back to where it should be and we finally made it back to the playoffs,” Christensen said.
A former Green River player, Christensen said one of his proudest accomplishments was building relationships with his players and helping restore excitement around the program.
“I’m thankful that they opened their arms to a hometown kid,” he said.
He added that giving players the opportunity to compete in meaningful games, including the Wolves’ playoff matchup at Riverton, was especially meaningful.
“There is no feeling like that,” Christensen said. “I was glad the boys got to experience that for the first time.”
Christensen credited his players and coaching staff for the program’s turnaround, noting the team’s offensive success and record-setting performances this season.
“We broke numerous offensive records and that doesn’t happen without the buy-in and the effort of the players,” he said. “I was only as good as my assistant coaches. They kept me grounded and were great to work with.”
He also expressed gratitude to Green River athletic director Tony Beardsley for giving him his first head coaching opportunity.
“First of all, I wanna thank athletic director Tony Beardsley for putting trust in a 28-year-old kid who was green as a head coach and allowing him the opportunity to coach for his former team,” Christensen said.
Christensen’s tenure included several individual milestones, as Braxton Doak committed to play Division I football at Central Michigan, Dax Taylor earned Super 25 recognition, and both Taylor and Max Hintz were named all-state players.
He closed by thanking his family, particularly his wife, for her support throughout his coaching career.
“I want to thank my wife for always standing with me. There were a lot of ups and downs, but she was one heck of a coach’s wife through everything we went through together,” Christensen said.
Christensen leaves the program having helped guide Green River back to postseason play and setting a foundation for continued success moving forward.
