![\"Chisholm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FTW_PaschalvsChisholmTrailhsfb5.JPG\" "\\"Chisholm")
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Chisholm Trail head coach Marvin Nash talks to another coach on the sidelines during the first half of a UIL football game between Paschal and Chisholm Trail at Ranger Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, October. 03, 2025.<\/p>\n
Bob Booth<\/p>\n
Special to the Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
At Ole Miss, skipping a workout could cost players money. At Fort Worth Chisholm Trail, it could cost them a spot on the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf [players] miss a couple of workouts, then you no longer play football, and you\u2019ll buy a ticket and go watch us play,\u201d said Marvin Nash, the Rangers\u2019 second-year head coach.<\/p>\n
Nash, who has worked in player personnel and recruiting at Ole Miss and Rice, knows firsthand what next-level programs need.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re in the SEC or District 3-5A Division I, to Nash it all boils down to holding players accountable, having reliable leadership and valuing hard work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf [Ole Miss players] missed a workout, they got fined,\u201d Nash said. \u201cLane Kiffin said, \u2018I\u2019m going to fine you just like in the NFL because you\u2019re getting paid now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
At the high school level, Nash can\u2019t fine players like the former Ole Miss and current LSU coach did, but he can still hold them accountable. That\u2019s a core value in program he calls the Trail of Toughness, which is built on a \u201cblue-collar\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n
Nash, who said that work ethic fuels the team and allows him to hold his athletes to a college-level standard, hasn\u2019t had to enforce his workout rules. If he had been coaching the Rangers a decade ago, he might\u2019ve had to.<\/p>\n
But in 2026, Chisholm Trail has much higher expectations and recent success.<\/p>\n
After 12 straight losing seasons since the school opened, the Rangers had their first winning season in 2024 and another in 2025, Nash\u2019s first year at the helm.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The kids] locked in,\u201d Nash said. \u201cThey show up early. They stay late. \u2026 They\u2019re inspired. They\u2019re showing up, and they\u2019re doing everything they need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chisholm Trail\u2019s turnaround has been fueled by getting back to the basics of making sure players are healthy, well-rested and strong in the weight room. A key factor was simply making sure players were sticking to optimal workout and recovery schedules.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s allowed Nash to build on the foundation former Chisholm Trail coach Ricklan Holmes set. Nash raved about Holmes, now an assistant athletic director in Arlington ISD, calling him a great coach who \u201cknows how to turn around a program.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChanging the discipline part of the culture, having guys believe that they can win and then showing it in that season was great,\u201d Nash said. \u201cSo, it felt like the Kobe-to-Shaq alley-oop when I got there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, Nash and his squad are looking to finish that lob with a slam dunk. The Rangers have already proven that their success wasn\u2019t a fluke.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s lots of football left to be played, but the next big goal for the Rangers is winning the school\u2019s first playoff game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no gold in the trophy case, and that\u2019s something that I talked about when I first got here,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n
That type of challenge can be daunting, but it\u2019s one the team embraces. With the way Chisholm Trail (3-2) has started the season, it\u2019s certainly a possibility, and Nash is confident it\u2019ll happen eventually if the Rangers put their heads down and keep climbing.<\/p>\n
Nash called Chisholm Trail a \u201csleeping giant.\u201d That potential helped draw Nash, a former assistant at Denton Guyer, Crosby, San Marcos and Frisco Wakeland, back to Texas high school football.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything about the Friday night lights lore is what attracts you to the game,\u201d Nash said. \u201cI [coached in] college, and I was off the field, so I did a lot of film watching and a lot of scouting. But I wasn\u2019t in the trenches. \u2026 I was itching to get back into the coaching aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The athletes driving Chisholm Trail<\/p>\n
The 2026 Rangers are one of the most talented teams, if not the most talented, Chisholm Trail has had. They don\u2019t have any five-star athletes, but do have promising recruits who have far exceeded expectations and a handful of young players building up experience.<\/p>\n
The driving force is junior running back Xavier Rodriguez, who is averaging 168 yards per game. Nash said he \u201crepresents the Trail of Toughness with everything he does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is undersized in some people\u2019s eyes, but his heart is bigger than anyone\u2019s,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n
The Rangers have a well-rounded receiver room with senior Tavion Franklin and junior Montez Roberts, who have combined for 941 yards this season. That gives senior quarterback Keaton Rose plenty of options.<\/p>\n
\u201cFranklin is as smooth as they come,\u201d Nash said. \u201cHe\u2019s hard to tackle. He\u2019s so quick. He\u2019s a precise route runner, but he is football savvy. He has such a football IQ. He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s hard to guard one-on-one. And Franklin \u2026 can do a bunch of different things really, really well; plays offense and defense for us. He\u2019s that Swiss Army knife that every team needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the leaders of the defense is 2025 district defensive MVP Aidan Rivas, a senior whom Nash called an underrated recruit who can play anywhere on the defensive line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he was an inch and a half taller, I would have offered him when I was at Ole Miss,\u201d Nash said. \u201cIt\u2019s really that simple. He is strong. He can run down screens. He can run down plays from behind. \u2026 He\u2019s just a great football player and also great in the community. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does everything the correct way and people follow him just by seeing what he can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another standout is junior linebacker Cameron House, who Nash says has an \u201cunbelievable motor.\u201d He said House\u2019s recruiting stock should climb, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the nicest kid you\u2019ll meet when he shakes your hand,\u201d Nash said. \u201cBut then on the field, he\u2019s a complete lunatic, which is why I love him because he reminds me of myself at a young age. \u2026 He\u2019s a sideline-to-sideline guy who will run down anything. He\u2019s unblockable, honestly. And even if you get hands on him, he\u2019s strong, physical and fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
A battle for playoff positioning<\/p>\n
When it comes to making that playoff-win dream come true, seeding could be the difference-maker. That makes Chisholm Trail\u2019s 41-26 win over playoff contender Azle and an Oct. 9 game against Denton critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve almost put it together this season,\u201d Nash said. \u201cBut seeing four full quarters of offense, defense and special teams being played at a high effort level and a high execution level \u2013 we\u2019re so close. We score points. We get stops when we need to, but I want us to see it and see it all come together against a really well-coached team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rangers\u2019 toughest test of the regular season comes Nov. 6 against Denton Ryan, the team that eliminated them, 59-7, in the 2025 bi-district round.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey simply overpowered us,\u201d Nash said. \u201cThey were the better team. They were stronger, more physical. I want to bridge that gap. To close that a little bit. I also want to let our kids know that any given day when we line up, there will be a competition. And we have an opportunity to win.\u201d<\/p>\n