SMU commit’s move to quarterback helping Richland to 2-0 start after win over Paschal
C.J. Nelson moved from wide receiver to quarterback this season out of necessity for Richland. Nelson, a SMU commit, had not taken a snap at quarterback since the seventh grade.
But Thursday night Nelson looked every bit the part when he accounted for four touchdowns as the Royals dominated Fort Worth Paschal 55-13 in the Star-Telegram fan game of the week at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletic Complex.
“At first I was hesitant, but I feel I needed to do what’s better for the team,” said Nelson, who was 11 of 18 for 78 yards passing and rushed for 64 yards on nine carries. “At the end of the day football is a team game and you have to do what you can to help.”
Nelson opened the scoring for Richland (2-0) with a 14-yard scamper around left end and after Mark Zamora ran in the two-point conversion, the Royals led 8-0 with 3:32 left in the first quarter.
Richland’s Nate Morcom picked off a Paschal pass on the Panthers next play from scrimmage and three plays later Nelson capitalized with a 4-yard scoring pass to Zamora who made a nice catch in the back of the end zone.
Zamora and Nelson connected again from 23 yards out with 48 seconds left in the first half to put Richland up 26-7.
“It’s good for our offense to have him back there,” said Zamora who caught six passes for 65 yards. “He’s becoming a great leader back there at the quarterback position, becoming vocal with the offense. I feel like he’s doing a great job.”
Richland head coach Ged Kates had tabbed junior Bryce Morton with the starting job at quarterback, but Morton tore his meniscus before the season started.
“C.J.’s a senior now and committed to SMU to be a wide receiver and doesn’t have to worry about his future,” said Kates. “He knows that’s what he is, but I said ‘hey buddy, for the good of our team and for us to do the best we can possibly you need to get back there.’”
Kates added that Nelson has really embraced it and is refining his skills. Throwing the ball on time, seeing things differently and getting a little better each day.
“He was always special with the ball in his hands,” added Kates. “And for a couple of weeks in a row now he’s making us look like really good coaches because it’s not that easy.”
Christian Smith-Johnson, an Oklahoma baseball commit, had the third interception of the night for the Royals to halt Paschal’s opening drive of the second half. E.J. Gipson-Smith capitalized with a 15-yard scoring run to give Richland a 33-7 lead.
Nelson found Dominique Johnson with a 7-yard scoring pass to give the Royals a 40-7 lead with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
Paschal (1-1) was trying for its first 2-0 start since the 2016 season, but just couldn’t find any consistency against the Richland defense. Richland out-gained Paschal 394-194 in total yardage.
Panthers’ running back Chris Gee did rush for 100 yards on 22 carries and scored on a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter. Paschal running back Tommy Bell took a screen pass from quarterback Will Henry 21 yards for a TD to open the scoring for the Panthers in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 18-7.
Javion Kibble (9 yards) and Logan Duhon (25 yards) had scoring runs for Richland late. Duhon finished with 87 rushing yards on nine carries to lead the Royals while Gipson-Smith added 85 yards on 12 carries.
“Instead of being more like the man I can be the man that gets to help everyone else get some shots,” said Nelson, who along with the rest of the Royals did not commit a turnover in the game. “To me it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters to me is my team and if they need me at quarterback then it is what it is.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 12:52 AM.