New Caney ISD on Friday morning announced the hiring of Lake Belton head football coach Brian Cope as the second-ever head football coach at New Caney West Fork High School. Cope replaces Dougald McDougald who opened the West Fork program in 2023 and guided the Gators through their first two varsity seasons.
Cope has experience with young programs as he started up the athletic program at Lake Belton High School in 2020. After playing a JV schedule in that season, Lake Belton went unbeaten playing an outlaw schedule in 2021 and then Cope led the Broncos to four straight playoff appearances from 2022-2025 posting a 37-16 overall record as a head coach.