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When the Tyler Lee Red Raiders hit the field at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium for the season opener on Aug. 31, they are going to be surrounded by a new video board, a new press box and more following renovations to the stadium.

And with the stadium looking nice for the 2018 season, the Red Raiders hope to on-field product is even nicer.

Coming off of its first winning season since 2008, Lee is looking build on to that success in the second season under head coach Kurt Traylor.

“The goal is always to win,” senior offensive lineman Beaux Limmer said. “Our goal for this year is to win more than we did last year and be better team than we were last year. I think we have the skill and the ability to do that.”

The Red Raiders went 6-4 in 2017, closing with wins over North Mesquite (50-21) and rival John Tyler (34-30).

“What I was proud of is that we finished the season strong,” Traylor said. “It’s not like we fell off. We got better. I wish we could’ve started the next season right then, because we were a really good team at the end of the year. The kids believe in us and bought into the program.”

OFFENSE

An offense starts at quarterback, and after the graduation of Chance Amie — now at Syracuse University — that is the Red Raiders’ biggest question mark entering the season.

Senior Roland Poster is back after being the backup last season. Junior Mark Patton, who stands at 6-foot-6, comes to Lee from Malakoff with his father, Ted Patton, who is on the Red Raiders’ coaching staff.

“Both of them are unbelievable kids, men of character who show up every day and work,” Traylor said. “If you’re going into the season and ask who the starter is going to be, they’re as equal as can be.”

Whoever is taking the snaps will have a dynamic running back to hand the ball to with senior Ladarius Wickware, who was a preseason East Texas Dream Team pick by East Texas sportswriters. Wickware carried the ball 174 times for 1,164 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior after rushing for 1,404 and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore.

“He’s a power back,” Traylor said. “But what people don’t understand is yes, he’s a big kid, but his speed is a little faster than you think. He’s had an unbelievable summer. He showed up, and he’s become a leader. Those are qualities you like to see in your tailback, especially when you’re coming back as a productive player.”

Jordan Printers, Jamar Arceneaux and a bevy of young running backs will help provide depth behind Wickware.

At receiver, the Red Raiders have Zaylon Walker, Te’vion Massey, Sebastian Grady Andrew Bergfeld and Malik Hall.

“We have some balance,” Traylor said. “Each one has their different abilities. We’ve got a little more depth there last year than we did last year, which will help a lot.”

“We have to continue to work hard and grind every single day,” Walker said. “We can’t take any days off.”

A big difference entering this season opposed to last year is the return of almost the entire offensive line.

Right tackle Limmer, right guard Nathan Kuehn, left tackle Kyan Milton and center Carson Stokes are all back, and they will be joined by Josh McClaskey at left guard.

“We’re still trying to find and develop that depth, but we’ve got some quality offensive linemen coming back,” Traylor said. “We’ve got some young ones that are big and physical that will surprise some people too, but it’s good having those guys returning, especially just from the leadership. I always say the tempo of practice is set by the offensive line. When you’ve got guys like that who have done it and know our expectations, it helps a lot.”

“We definitely have a strong relationship, so that should help a lot on the field,” Kuehn said.

“Our offensive line is definitely going to be one of our strong points this year, because we are all good friends off the field, so that’s going to carry over to on the field,” Limmer said. “We’ve all gotten stronger since last year.”

The 6-5, 275-pound Limmer is committed to the University of Arkansas, and he was selected to the preseason East Texas Dream Team.

The Red Raiders hope to be a high-scoring offense that puts up 49 points a game.

“We have the potential,” Traylor said. “If you’re able to do that, you’re going to win some ball games. We’re going to run the ball, and if you’re able to run the ball, you’re going to be able to throw. Our kids are bigger, stronger and faster this year, so we have high expectations.”

The wild card of the offense is junior fullback Jamal Ligon.

“He’s an unbelievable talent,” Traylor said. “He’s a high character, quality kid. The thing about him is we can do so many different things with him. He can play a lot of different positions.”

And for what Ligon can add with his versatility on offense, he will also be a big-time player on the defense.

DEFENSE

It all starts up front, and that includes Ligon at defensive end.

He will be joined by Noah Springer, Tavion Lary, Tariq Woods, Teon Dunkley, Limmer and Kuehn.

“We’ve got more depth there this year,” Traylor said. “The one concern I’ve got on the defensive line is that some of those guys are going to be playing on the offensive side of the ball, too. You’ve got to be fresh, especially at the 6A level. It’s part of the process of rebuilding the program, getting more kids out there and getting more depth. And we’re getting there.

“We’re going to have some young kids playing on the defensive line, too. They’re going to be good, but they’re going to be young. The first of the year, we’ll be young there, but as the year goes along, they’re going to get better.”

At linebacker for the Red Raiders will be Hall, Kedric Walker, Printers, Nick McGrew and Devon’t Bolton.

“I think that will be the strength of our team,” Traylor said. “We have good kids who play hard and have had an unbelievable summer. It’s a physical game at the 6A level, so better have some strong kids out there. They did a good job in the weight room getting stronger and faster.”

“We just have to fix our little mistakes that we made last year” Hall said. “We had some games last year where we beat ourselves. We’ve just got to go out there, fix those mistakes and execute.”

In the secondary for the Red Raiders will be Jack Zimmerman, Ivan Matlock, Elliott Davison, Massey, Keyshawn Rivas and Carey Clark.

Zimmerman is coming back from an ACL injury. Clark is also a swimmer. Davison is the Red Raiders’ leading returner in tackles and interceptions.

“We’ve got to be more physical this year,” Traylor said. “I thought we played with tremendous effort last year. I say it all of the time, it takes no talent to play with effort. We will play hard, because we’ve got coaches that are going to demand it. We’ve just got to make sure we play fast, play physical and execute.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Not only will Patton be battling for the quarterback job, but he will also handle the punting duties for the Red Raiders.

Serving as the team’s kicker will be Mason Magers. He was 97.1 percent on his extra-point attempts last season.

Patton and Magers are both juniors.

OUTLOOK

The growth of the Lee football program in the past year has been evident. Now, the Red Raiders will get the chance to display it for their fans and their opponents.

“We’re excited,” Traylor said. “Everybody is talking about the word culture. We established our culture last year and the expectations we want to see if our program. Last year when we got here, I was still learning kids’ names. Now, we know their names and who they are, and they know us and what we expect from them. That’s a big part of it.”

Lee will open the season with four of its first five games at Rose Stadium. After facing Marshall in the season opener, the Red Raiders will take on rival John Tyler in the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic.

Lee will then hit the road to take on Nacogdoches before returning home against Mesquite Poteet to close the non-district portion of the schedule. The Red Raiders will then host Rockwall-Heath in the District 11-6A opener on Sept. 28.

“Our non-district schedule is loaded with talent,” Traylor said. “We’ll be prepared when district rolls around. And our district is unbelievable with the amount of great coaches and great players.

“We’re excited for this year. To me, we had a productive season last year. But we’ve got to keep going, protect the culture and take the next step. The kids have put the work in. And the work you put in in the dark shines in the light.”