Realignment thoughts
Posted by Travis Stewart on 2 February 2012 | 0 comments
Someone asked a good question in our 2012 Realignment Live Chat today — when the numbers finally hit the web, where did I look first?
Caught me — Lake Travis.
How could you not? The Cavaliers are coming off a fifth-straight state title and are now about to make a highly-anticipated debut in Class 5A, possibly the nation's toughest level of prep football. They return a very good senior-to-be at quarterback and a junior-to-be at running back, plus a bevy of good defenders who have a chance to carry on the program's proud tradition of hard-nosed play. It's one of the more impact realignment moves we've seen in some time. Can you blame me for bee-lining to the new-look 15-5A?
Of course there were plenty of other noteworthy developments this morning when we pulled the districts out of the paint-shaker machine. Here's a few scattered thoughts and lists to digest as we head towards a more content-heavy Friday:
Winners:
Euless Trinity: Though the Trojans' district added Carrollton Turner and kept Colleyville Heritage, it should still add up to a near-automatic playoff berth for Steve Lineweaver's crew for two more years. I'm still waiting for a powerhouse team to finally settle into Trinity's annual rotation.
Aledo and Lake Travis: The darling children of 4A both made out well this time around; Aledo moved to the FWISD district (with Granbury), which means the Bearcats should be a prohibitive favorite almost every time they take the field, even without Johnathan Gray and Matt Bishop. Arlington Heights will be a tough test, but Tim Buchanan's squad will be picked to win that district by every media outlet in Texas. Though LT drew Westlake in its new 5A district, the rest of the Austin ISD teams it will face in 2012 and 2013 aren't on its level. It might be an easier district than the one LT had in 2010 and 2011.
Lubbock and Lubbock Monterey: Both Lubbock schools have dropped down into Class 4A, which should help things quite a bit. Both were straining to stay competitive at the 5A level, but moving down — even into Wolfforth Frenship's district — should take some of the pressure off. Poor Coronado is still stuck up in 5A, though, and in a very tough district to boot.
All of 23-3A: These Houston ISD schools were in an even worse position that the two Lubbock ones; unless they played each other in the playoffs, the postseason was always unkind to these tiny programs. Most weren't even close to 4A numbers to begin with. The travel may be worse in the postseason, but the scores should be better. I think program participation will go up for the next two years.
Kirbyville: The two-year stint back in Class 3A was not a good one for Kirbyville. Now that it's back in 2A, where it nearly one a couple of state titles, it may be able to get back into the win column.
Honorable mention: SA Brennan, EP Hanks, DeSoto.
Toughest districts:
13-5A: The Klein and Spring schools are tied at the hip, and that leaves fans fit to be tied. Both ISDs are power-packed with collegiate talent once again, and merely surviving the district is a Herculean feat. Dekaney, the 2011 DII champ, will be rebuilding at many key spots, but don't count anyone out in the slightly new-look district.
31-5A: Yikes. Weslaco East moving up from 4A and getting stuck with San Benito, Weslaco, the PSJA and the McAllen schools is a brutal draw. We may not end up with a state champion from here, but the four teams that make the playoffs out of this Valley district should get championship rings on effort alone.
4-3A: The West Texas 3A districts are always savage, because there's so much talent out there. But this one is pretty rough; Abilene Wylie, Big Spring, Midland Greenwood, Monahans, Snyder and Sweetwater. That gives me a stomach ache. Sorry, coaches.
10-2A DI and 10-2A DII: Both of these "10s" would score that high on a difficulty meter: Kirbyville, Anahuac, Newton, East Chambers and a host of other contenders fill out the coffers in DI, and the Arp-Garrison-West Rusk trio in DII isn't much better. Garrison moving up surprised me, but I guess we should have seen the rest of this coming.
12-1A DII: This may be the toughest district in Texas, even with just four teams: Bremond, Chilton, Lovelady and Normangee. That's twisted; the team that doesn't qualify for the playoffs here could probably still be good enough for a regional final. That's a lot of tradition packed into a small bag.
Oddities:
8-5A: Centex teams in Region I in Class 5A? Peculiar. Copperas Cove and Temple are both pretty good, as is Hewitt Midway. But climbing through Region I is a beating.
17-4A: Centex teams in Region III in Class 4A? Peculiar. The drop-down of the Houston ISD schools created space for a foreigner or two in 4A's traditionally Houston-dominated Region III, and Centex obliged. Hutto, Georgetown or Pflugerville Connally could be the favorite here. But how do they stack up regionally?
