By John Mesh
After three seasons as defensive coordinator at Nickerson High School, Parker Bruce will get his first head coaching opportunity with the Panther football program.
“I am very excited walking into my first year as head coach,” Bruce said. “Taylor Bauman (former Nickerson coach) has helped me tremendously on the ins and outs of what it takes to be a head coach. Another positive is that I have been with this group the last three years, so the transition was very smooth and we got to work quickly.”
Nickerson, a Kansas Class 3A school in 2025, opens the season Sept. 5 with a test at home against Conway Springs, winners of the last two Class 1A state titles.
The Panthers have posted a 1-8 record four seasons in a row. Nickerson has not made the playoffs since 2017 when Mike Vernon (now at Hutchinson High School) was the head coach.
Nickerson returns nine starters on offense and seven on defense.
Offensive starters returning are senior quarterback Kristopher Monroe, junior running back Rylan Morrell, senior tight end Riley Brawner, senior wide receivers Austin Peterson and Lian Hedrick, senior offensive linemen Atton Nelson, Gabe Taylor and Jayden Belote and junior offensive lineman Zein Rector.
The Panthers are installing a new offense under offensive coordinator Michael Hill. Bruce said Hill has a rich history of coaching football.
“With nine returning starters on the offensive side, all who have mostly played since they were freshman, we are looking forward to seeing our offense maintain possession of the ball, manage the clock and be able to be balanced with our weapons up front, in the back field and outside on the receivers,” Bruce said.
Defensive starters returning are Nelson, Rector and Kagyn Rice, defensive line; Morrell, Brawner and Taylor, linebackers; and Hedrick, cornerback.
“Defensively, we are making some minor tweaks to what we have done in the past, but we are going to continue to preach 11 (players) to the ball, take the ball away, fly around and play fast.
“We have some upcoming freshmen and sophomores. It’s been fun to see them learn and develop without having to be thrown to the fire because of how many were returning in our junior and senior class.”
Bruce said Monroe has impressed early at quarterback. He also was impressive at the camps the Panther players have attended. Monroe is a two-time state qualifying wrestler and has thrown the javelin 165 feet.
Monroe completed 17-of-59 passes for 320 yards with four touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the 2024 season. He also rushed for 230 yards and three TDs.
Morrell rushed for 559 yards on 110 carries and three TDs.
Peterson, who caught 5 passes for 174 yards, missed three games because of a concussion. Brawner caught 4 passes for 48 yards and two TDs.
“Rylan Morrell is going to be our work horse out of the back field, led by his lead blocker Dalton Wakefield-Baker,” Bruce said. “Up front we have Atton Nelson, Gabe Taylor, Jayden Belote and Zein Rector all coming back and they have looked bigger, stronger and more physical in the new brand of offense that we’re installing.”
Riley Brawner at tight end and Austin Peterson at wide receiver are Nickerson’s major weapons on the outside in the passing game.
“They are big receivers that run smooth routes and fantastic hands,” Bruce said. “Riley Brawner plays tight end and excels at both the passing game and lining up off the line of scrimmage and playing physical as a blocker off the edge.
“Austin Peterson is a 6-foot-3 receiver that we’re very excited to use. Austin and Kristopher are first cousins — talk about a quarterback/wide receiver connection.”
On defense, Rylan Morrell made 55 tackles for the Panthers in 2024, Brawner 50, Taylor 39, Hedrick 30, Nelson 28, Rector 22 and Rice 8.
Defensively, Bruce said Riley Brawner and Taylor are the team leaders at linebacker. He said both play well off each other and fly sideline to sideline. Rylan Morrell, Dalton Wakefield-Baker, Connor White and Elijah Trass will be the outside linebackers.
“Having depth with this group is nice as all these guys will carry the rock out of the backfield,” Bruce said. “Atton Nelson and Zein Rector are coming back up front and we are looking to them to help mentor and bring the other five or six guys we have that are all fighting for positions and playing time right now. Lian Hedrick is our lone returner in the back half of our defense.
“We are looking forward to seeing what some of our juniors (Corbin Shelton and Maxx White) and a couple of corners (Chase Welch and Jeffren Rodriguez) can do filling those roles,” Bruce said.
“Defensively, we tweaked things we have done the last three years to help with the flaws we saw last year. They caught on quickly and play fast and aggressively in the updated system.”
Bruce said he, the coaching staff and the Panther players are extremely eager to officially kick things off.
“We have had a great offseason in the weight room, on the field and just coming together as a group,” Bruce said. “With so much experience coming back, we think we can get back to competing night in and night out.”
Nickerson will compete in a tough district that also includes Andale, Hesston, Smoky Valley and Wichita Trinity.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of showing up every week to prepare for the most important game, the one that is next up. However, I think this senior group has a chip on their shoulders to be the team that gets this back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.”