District 11-5A Division I
Although this district doesn’t have the depth that District 9 and District 12 have, this is still a strong district at the top with Richmond Randle leading the charge up from 5A-Division II. The Lions are 31-1 the last two years with a state title and state runner-up finish, and this year’s team may be their best yet with seven back on both sides of the ball, including RB Landen Williams-Callis back for his senior season. Angleton had a state title contending team a year ago, but injuries late in the year derailed things for the Wildcats. They’ll still be strong but a step behind Randle. Iowa Colony is a mystery as the Pioneers the last two years are 24-0 against teams not named Randle, but the Pioneers lost a stellar senior class and their returning QB transferred this offseason. The four-spot is really going to be a two-horse race between a solid Friendswood squad and Katy Freeman. Freeman is a total mystery being a new program, but there’s a lot of optimism and intrigue around this new program in Katy ISD.
District 12-5A Division I
This Central Texas district is absolutely loaded with depth across the board and things start with a Pflugerville Weiss squad that is poised to be a regional contender. The Wolves posted their best season in school history at 10-3 under first year head coach Malcolm Hill. They return 15 starters and have some of the best front-line talent in the state. They get the nod for the district title, but last year they finished fourth, so there’s not much margin in this loop. A&M Consolidated, which actually won the district a year ago, brings back a dozen total starters and they have back plenty of firepower. Things get murky after the top two slots. Killeen Shoemaker, which drops down from Class 6A, expects to be a contender after posting a 7-3 mark a year ago; the Grey Wolves are loaded with playmakers and new head coach Roy Locks has the community buzzing. Georgetown and College Station are consistent playoff contenders, but both have a lot of questions after graduating large senior classes. Pflugerville Connally made the area playoffs a year ago in 5A-Division II and they bring back 14 starters, yet they are picked sixth. That just shows you how deep this district is across the board.
PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS AND PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
W9 La Porte vs F10 Houston Waltrip
R12 College Station A&M Consolidated vs T11 Iowa Colony
W10 Houston Madison vs F9 Lufkin
R11 Angleton vs T12 Killeen Shoemaker
W11 Richmond Randle vs F12 Georgetown
R10 Houston Westbury vs T9 Beaumont West Brook
W12 Pflugerville Weiss vs F11 Friendswood
R9 Port Arthur Memorial vs T10 Houston Milby
Region III is absolutely loaded. At the top of the bracket, first round games featuring A&M Consolidated taking on Iowa Colony and Angleton taking on Shoemaker is just box office. Every potential second round game is going to be outstanding, but sign me up for Pflugerville Wiess and Port Arthur Memorial and the winner of A&M Consolidated-Iowa Colony playing La Porte. I’m going to go ahead and petition the four regional semifinalists to go ahead and schedule a double-header Thanksgiving weekend at Prairie View A&M. Just inject that into my veins because this region is going to be absolutely loaded with good games.
REGIONAL CHAMPION
Richmond Randle over La Porte
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