After seven resurgent years under Howard Story, the John Tyler boys soccer team begins a new chapter on Tuesday.

Story, who led the Lions to four straight sectional playoff appearances from 2011-14, resigned in May.

Brian Friend, the JT football kicking coach the last two years and assistant soccer coach last year, was promoted to head coach shortly thereafter.

He’ll finally get his first game action when Forney visits John Tyler High School Field at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“I think the players and myself are just ready to play with all the work we’ve been putting in,” Friend said. “It’s nice to go and get out there and show what we have.”

The Lions went 10-9-5 in Story’s final season in charge, falling to Mount Pleasant in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs.

That squad graduated 13 seniors, including all-district players such as Ernesto Hernandez, Luis Lizalde and Aron Alonso, the latter of whom was an All-East Texas selection.

“There were some guys that are real hard to replace not only for their soccer ability but their leadership and experience,” Friend said.

But the Lions have 13 more seniors to step on the leadership front to go along with a strong sophomore class.

And fortunately for Friend, he has a year under his belt as an assistant coach at JT.

“That one year was huge because I got to see everything from coach Story, who spent seven years doing it,” Friend said. “He showed me a lot of things I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

John Tyler will employ a variation of a 4-4-2 with three seniors providing the backbone of the squad: Fredy Hernandez, Antonio Betancourt and Aaron Alfaro.

Hernandez, a forward, and Betancourt, a defender, are the two team captains. Alfaro is another defender who has taken on leadership roles.

Joining Betancourt and Alfaro in defense will be a combination of junior Jose Sanchez, who has two years of varsity experience, Jerardo Valtierra, who captained the JV squad as a freshman last year, and Ulises Velarde, a senior looking for a big year after injuring his knee last year.

That group will be protecting senior Carlos Valle in goal.

Friend has a lot of options in midfield, starting with Javier Alfaro, who Friend said may be the team’s most dangerous player whether he’s taking defenders on one-on-one, shooting with either foot or sending crosses into the box.

Sem Fernandez is a box-to-box midfielder who can break things up on defense and start the attack on offense.

Then there are three sophomores and a freshman who will rotate in. Armando Ledesma, Juan Cerda and Victor Delgado are all capable starters as sophomores while freshman Jose Bravo isn’t big, but deceptively quick on the ball and can create scoring chances.

Any of those midfielders could join Hernandez up top. However a couple football players will also be competing for the other forward spot: Jamar Cuba, a senior receiver, and Marco Miranda, a sophomore quarterback with a natural goal-scoring ability.

The football players will have be accustomed to the early morning practices the soccer team has utilized thus far, getting workouts done before school and during first period.

John Tyler as a team, however, hasn’t gotten an early start on playing games, starting almost a week after the official UIL start date of games, which was Thursday.

However the Lions will more than make up for the late start with eight games in two weeks, including the Lobo Soccer Invitational in Longview and the Lufkin Panther Showcase.

In addition to facing top teams from both East Texas and the Houston area, the Lions have their depth tested, something Friend think will be a strength of his 23-man roster.

“We have a lot of depth,” Friend said. “Every single guy I feel like I can put in the game.

“With eight (non-district) games coming up, we’ll find out real soon what they can do.”

John Tyler opens District 16-5A play on Jan. 29 at home to Whitehouse. The season concludes back at home on March 18 against reigning Class 5A champion Lufkin.

LIONS TALES: The John Tyler basketball teams hit the road to face Jacksonville at John Alexander Gym on Tuesday. The Lady Lions (21-2, 3-1 District 16-5A) and Maidens (6-10, 1-3) tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the Lions (15-4, 3-0) and the Indians (15-5, 1-1) at 7:30 p.m.

TWITTER: @TYoestingETFS

—

2016 John Tyler Boys Soccer Schedule

Jan. 12 Forney (JTHS) 7 p.m.

Jan. 14 vs. Henderson# 1:45 p.m.

Jan. 15 at Longview# 7 p.m.

Jan. 16 vs. Mount Pleasant# 12:30 p.m.

Jan. 19 at Pine Tree 7 p.m.

Jan. 21 vs. The Woodlands^ 2 p.m.

Jan. 22 vs. Oak Ridge^ 2 p.m.

Jan. 23 vs. Port Arthur^ 1 p.m.

Jan. 26 Chapel Hill (JTHS) 7 p.m.

Jan. 29 Whitehouse (JTHS)* 7 p.m.

Feb. 1 at Corsicana* 7:15 p.m.

Feb. 5 Lindale (JTHS)* 7 p.m.

Feb. 12 at Nacogdoches* 7 p.m.

Feb. 16 Jacksonville (Rose)* 7 p.m.

Feb. 19 at Lufkin* 6 p.m.

Feb. 23 at Whitehouse* 7 p.m.

Feb. 26 Corsicana (JTHS)* 7 p.m.

March 1 at Lindale* 7 p.m.

March 11 Nacogdoches (Rose)* 7 p.m.

March 15 at Jacksonville* 7 p.m.

March 18 Lufkin (JTHS)* 6 p.m.

Home games at John Tyler High School Field (JTHS) or Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium (Rose)

# – Lobo Soccer Invitational, Longview

^ – Lufkin Panther Showcase

* – District 16-5A

—

2016 John Tyler Boys Soccer Roster

No. Name Grade

0 Jose Mendoza Jr.

1 Carlos Valle Sr.

2 Jesus Murillo Soph.

3 Jerardo Valtierra Soph.

4 Antonio Betancourt Sr.

5 Aaron Alfaro Sr.

6 Jose Bravo Fr.

7 Armando Ledesma Soph.

8 Javier Alfaro Sr.

9 Martin Delacruz Jr.

10 Sem Fernandez Jr.

11 Fredy Hernandez Sr.

12 Juan Cerda Soph.

13 Victor Delgado Soph.

14 Jose Sanchez Jr.

15 Ulises Velarde Sr.

17 Aquileo Estrada Sr.

18 Jason Charles Sr.

19 Ivan Tinoco Sr.

20 Jamar Cuba Sr.

21 Esteban Mora Sr.

22 Marco Miranda Soph.

23 Rafael Ibarra Sr.

Head Coach: Brian Friend

Assistant Coaches: Edgar Rodriguez and Christopher Wrighten

Manager: Aaron Macias