Countdown to kickoff: New faces abound for TC Nelson in 2016
Trophy Club Nelson
District 5-6A
Last season: 6-5 (4-3 District 5-6A)
Key players: DL Tristan Allen (6-4, 260); WR Tyler Milliken (6-1, 180); WR Pascal Mondombo (6-2, 190); OL Matt Dotson (5-10, 230); QB Eli Rusche (6-0, 180); RB Bryson Davis (5-9, 160).
The big picture: If there’s one word to encompass the state of Nelson football this season, it’s probably “new.” New coach, new schemes, new district, new players. That’s a lot of new. Travis Pride takes over as coach after a successful run at Mansfield Summit and inherits a team that returns only 14 lettermen. The Bobcats will need to grow up quickly to compete with new district foes Euless Trinity and Southlake Carroll. Offensively, six starters return but no one who has thrown a varsity pass. Senior Eli Rusche, a coach’s son, will assume the QB role. Pride describes him as a student of the game and a good leader. “He’s not going to be a Johnny Manziel and take a game over, but he’ll be efficient and run the system,” Pride added. Rusche will have a potent receiving corps at his disposal, which should relieve some pressure. Tyler Milliken (47 catches, 825 yards) was an all-district performer a year ago, and Pascal Mondombo’s nine TD receptions led the team. Hunter Meacham adds a utility element to the offense. The 6-4, 220-pounder is a backup QB but can also fill in at WR. Bryson Davis started some at RB last season and led the team with 518 yards, and he’ll be featured in the backfield with Rusche. Tristan Allen is the lone returning defensive starter. He’ll anchor the defense from his tackle position. Schematically, the Bobcats will look a lot different this year and are a work in progress, so expect plenty of experimentation early as Pride looks to get the right people in the right places to be successful. The coach likes some of his young linebackers and defensive backs, but says the main thing they need now is confidence, which can only come from playing on Friday nights.
Quotable: “I’ve always aspired, like a lot of coaches, to be on the main stage every game, every Friday, playing for all the marbles. I want to play at the highest level, at 6A. … I’m not naive to think we won’t have some bumps and bruises and challenges. But I’m extremely optimistic always and even if I’m the underdog, I’m going to fight and scratch and claw and do whatever to be successful. — Coach Travis Pride
“I’ve enjoyed the new coaching staff. It was a big change, but I feel like the team is reacting well to it and we’re starting to come together. It was kind of hard at first to pick up the new schemes, but now we’ve really got it going. We’re starting to fine-tune a lot of things … We’re all just anxious and excited for the opportunity. It’s very important to me to set a new standard for Nelson, to become a powerhouse. I think it starts with this first year under coach Pride, and hopefully this senior class can do that.” — QB Eli Rusche
Notable: Nelson opened in 2009 and has one playoff victory, in 2011.
This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Countdown to kickoff: New faces abound for TC Nelson in 2016."