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New coach faces pressure taking over Celina following two successful coaches

Celina offensive lineman Jake Raulerson earned the nickname “bell cow” by becoming the first player in the Class of 2013 to commit to Texas in February.

The nickname seems appropriate for the 6-5, 265-pound athlete, who helped the Bobcats reach the Class 3A Division I Region II final last year. Raulerson is among several key returnees for Celina, the No. 1 team of SportsDay’s 3A-2A preseason area rankings.

“He had just about every D-I school offering him,” Celina coach Bill Elliott said. “I told him he better live up to it.”

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Elliott will also have a lot to live up to in his first season as a head coach. The longtime assistant played under both of his predecessors, G.A. Moore and Butch Ford, at Pilot Point, then coached under both at Celina.

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Filling the shoes of Moore, the all-time Texas high school football wins leader, and Ford, who won two state titles in 10 seasons at Celina, is a task Elliott seems ready to take on.

“I’ve been here for 20 years and gone through so much tradition here,” Elliott said. “So to finally get a chance to take over is great. I have two boys in the program now, and it’s a really special time. I couldn’t ask for a better situation.”

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Plano Prestonwood and Fort Worth Nolan are Nos. 1 and 2 for the second year in a row in SportsDay’s large private school rankings, and Fort Worth All Saints returns as the top-ranked small private school.