Senior leadership makes talented Jesuit even stronger

MILTON HINNANT/DMN

Ian Kalis is one of 13 seniors on the Jesuit roster. He spent his sophomore year in the under-17 national team's residency program.

Jesuit coach Charles De Long loves senior leadership. Given that he has 13 seniors, it's no surprise that he loves his team's chances.

"On paper, we should be pretty good," said De Long, who enters his 28th season at Jesuit. "These guys grew up together. You can win with anybody, but you are best served with seniors because they know it's their last chance."

De Long is looking at forward Joe Cooper, defender Greg Napper and defender Alex Johnston for leadership. All three were starters two years ago when Jesuit made its UIL state tournament debut.

"We're two years older and two years faster," said Cooper, who is committed to SMU and is the younger brother of FC Dallas' Kenny Cooper. "We know each other's game. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses."

Jesuit (20-1-1 in 2007) has had one huge addition since that state tournament appearance with senior midfielder Ian Kalis, who joined the team last year after spending his sophomore year in the under-17 national team's residency program in Florida.

The talent level is decidedly better than two years ago, Johnston said. However, given the difficulty of getting through the Class 5A Region I playoff bracket, Johnston said the team will have to remain poised in crucial situations – a characteristic that spurred the 2006 run when Jesuit won three playoffs in shootouts and another in overtime.

Sophomore Luna grows into his role at North Mesquite

North Mesquite coach Morris Thompson witnessed with pleasure the maturation of Ruben Luna last season. Luna, a shy freshman, gained confidence with every match. His assertiveness rose as well.

"Ruben's a great athlete," Thompson said. "But he's even a better kid. Last year, no one knew what to expect from him at first. He was real quiet."

As the year went along, Thompson said, he got better at being vocal.

The fact that Luna had 28 goals and 16 assists and was named District 12-5A newcomer of the year probably had something to do with that. For Luna, it was a matter of becoming comfortable playing alongside older players.

"I'm used to hanging out with people my age and sometimes even younger," Luna said. "It was a whole new experience."

Luna is rising outside the high school circles. He's on the Olympic Development Program's state team and in February will probably head to Barcelona, Spain, to compete for the ODP regional team. With the graduation of first-team all-area selection Zach Nulisch, who has headed to Tulsa, Luna is the go-to man for North Mesquite.

"Everyone listens to him," Thompson said. "He knows where he fits on the team."

OTHER BOYS TEAMS TO WATCH

OTHER BOYS PLAYERS TO WATCH

KEY DATES

TODAY: First day for UIL games

MARCH 18: First day of 4A playoffs

MARCH 24: First day of 5A playoffs

APRIL 4-5: 5A regional tournaments (Region I – Pennington Field; Region II – Eagle Stadium, Georgetown, Texas)

APRIL 10-12: UIL state tournament, Round Rock ISD Stadium

WHAT'S NEW

Conrad (Dallas ISD), Frisco Liberty, Lovejoy, Princeton and Mansfield Legacy begin varsity play this season