Mankato West QB Philip Nelson works for yards vs. New Prague. Marlin Levison/Star Tribune
The yellow no-contact practice jersey Philip Nelson wore all during two-a-days leading up to Week 1 of the high school football season really began to bother the Mankato West quarterback.
On Thursday, Nelson only got to wear his game-night, come-and-hit-me jersey on the field for a half. And he earned it.
Nelson and his Scarlets teammates knocked New Prague square on the chin, stunning the host Trojans 60-14 in the season opener.
“I was just waiting for that first hit; that’s when all the anxiety goes away,” Nelson said.
A Gophers recruit who completed 62 percent of his passes a year ago for 2,439 yards and 30 touchdowns, Nelson took control almost from the start. He finished with 195 yards passing and five touchdowns in just one half of work.
“He executed as well as we could have asked him,” coach Mark Esch said. “And we’re trying to build on it and get better each week.”
That’s not welcome news for other teams in Class 4A.
On a play that was decided earlier in the week, Nelson got what he wanted when he rushed for 18 yards on the first play from scrimmage. He then shook off an 0-for-3 start and hit senior wide receiver Hunter Friesen for a 16-yard touchdown just over 3 minutes into the game.
It was just the beginning — the two hooked up twice more in the half. By the time the first quarter ended, Nelson had 149 yards passing, added another TD through the air and one on the ground to give the Class 4A No. 1-ranked Scarlets a 22-0 cushion.
The rest of the first half, Nelson completed just three more passes — for scores of 11, 12 and 23 yards.
The stats after 24 minutes were eye-popping: Nelson alone was responsible for six touchdowns. New Prague ran just 23 plays.
“I was ready,” said Nelson, who in addition to spot-on throws lowered his shoulder for extra yardage on all of his runs. “I always give coach Esch a little bit of a hard time because I don’t get to play defense. So I get after guys from the quarterback spot too.”
No one is going to deny that Gophers recruit Philip Nelson stole the show Thursday at New Prague with a hand in six touchdowns for Class 4A, No. 1-ranked Mankato West in a 60-14 rout.
NAME | HIGH SCHOOL | YEAR | POS. | COLLEGE | VERBAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duke Anyanwu | Blaine | Senior | QB | Minnesota | Yes |
Matt Arends | Prior Lake | Senior | WR | Princeton | Yes |
Tavaughn Blair | Hopkins | Senior | SS | Northern Iowa | Yes |
Cal Bloom | Osseo | Senior | TE | Central Florida | Yes |
Nick Carr | Totino-Grace | Senior | OL | South Dakota State | Yes |
Kevin Carroll | Edina | Senior | OL | Northern Iowa | Yes |
Paddy Clancy | St. Thomas Academy | Senior | DB | Dartmouth | Yes |
Breion Creer | Benilde-St. Margaret's | Senior | DT | Northern Iowa | Yes |
Nick Davidson | Eden Prairie | Senior | OT | Stanford | Yes |
Rob Diane | Robbinsdale Cooper | *RCC Junior | DE | South Dakota State | Yes |
Cedric Dicke | Cannon Falls | Senior | LB | Minnesota | Yes |
Karmichael Dunbar | Prior Lake | Senior | DL | Louisianna | Yes |
Isaac Fruechte | Caledonia | *RCTC Sophomore | WR | Minnesota | Yes |
Joel Fuxa | Minnetonka | Senior | TE | Drake | Yes |
Jonathan Harden | Cretin-Derham Hall | Senior | DT | Western Michigan | Yes |
Tyler Hartmann | Andover | Senior | DE | Minnesota | Yes |
Isaac Hayes | St. Thomas Academy | Senior | OL/DL | Minnesota | Yes |
Cody Hazelette | Simley | Senior | LB/TE | Northern Illinois | Yes |
Kyle Hughes | Minneapolis Washburn | Senior | WR/DB | Eastern Michigan | Yes |
D.J. Hebert | Osseo | Senior | QB | Northern Iowa | Yes |
Cavonte Johnson | Edina | Senior | DB | Minnesota | Yes |
Will Johnson | Osseo | Senior | TE | West Virginia | Yes |
Zack Johnson | Eastview | Senior | OL | North Dakota State | Yes |
Paul Kaczor | St. Cloud Tech | Senior | OL | Harvard | Yes |
Brian Labat | Detroit Lakes | Senior | RB | North Dakota | Yes |
Andrew Larson | Eden Prairie | Senior | RB | Harvard | Yes |
Brandon Larson | Bemidji | Senior | LB | North Dakota | Yes |
Ben Lauer | Wayzata | Senior | OL | Minnesota | Yes |
Mitch Leidner | Lakeville South | Senior | QB | Minnesota | Yes |
Andre McDonald | Hopkins | Senior | WR | Minnesota | Yes |
Nate Meixell | Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial | Senior | LB | South Dakota State | Yes |
Nate Meyer | Rocori | Senior | QB | South Dakota State | Yes |
Drake Michaelson | Eden Prairie | Senior | LB | Wofford | Yes |
Rossevelt Morisset | Thief River Falls | Senior | WR | Southeastern Louisiana | Yes |
Andy Moritko | Totino-Grace | Senior | DB | South Dakota State | Yes |
Philip Nelson | Mankato West | Senior | QB | Minnesota | Yes |
Brett Pierce | Holy Angels | Senior | DL | North Dakota State | Yes |
Jonah Pirsig | Blue Earth | Senior | OL | Minnesota | Yes |
Nick Rallis | Edina | Senior | S | Minnesota | Yes |
Taj Rich | Robbinsdale Cooper | Senior | LB | North Dakota | Yes |
Zach Riopelle | Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | Senior | LB | North Dakota State | Yes |
Kasey Robinson | Breck | Senior | WR | Drake | Yes |
Chase Roullier | Burnsville | Senior | OL | Wyoming | Yes |
E.J. Welch | Mesabi East | *MRCC Freshman | DL | North Dakota | Yes |
Lucas Wiborg | DeLaSalle | Senior | OG | Cornell | Yes |
Evan Williams | DeLaSalle | *IWCC Freshman | RB | Northern Iowa | Yes |
Maxx Williams | Waconia | Senior | TE | Minnesota | Yes |
Carey Woods | Bemidji | Senior | WR | North Dakota State | Yes |