TYLER, Texas — The mascot was the same — a lion. The school colors were still blue and white. The Lions were still the nickname. Battle Royal was still played for the Brigadettes. And "Big Bad John" still echoed through the stadium.
However, the Rose City school's debut under the new name of the old name of Tyler High was not the tradition of old-school John Tyler football.
Tyler fell to Texas High, 41-21, before approximately 4,000 socially distanced masked-up fans on 114th season debut of Lions football on Earl Campbell Field at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium in Tyler.
Read more from CBS19's newspaper partner, the Tyler Morning Telegraph.