District 26-6A
This newly constituted seven team loop has all the makings of a runaway for Dripping Springs. The Tigers have posted 10 or more wins in four of the last five seasons and have made the regional finals in three of the last four seasons. There’s not much intrigue as to who is winning the district. Things get super interesting outside of that as there’s four teams fighting for three spots. I think this new alignment will greatly benefit the two Hays CISD programs in this district; I expect both to be in the playoffs along with what should be an improved Austin Bowie squad.
District 27-6A
This north San Antonio-centric district has one clear favorite and then as many as six teams that could make a legitimate case for one of the three remaining playoff spots. That means every district game will be hyper-crucial as tiebreakers and who beat who head to head could factor into things. The easy part is at the top where Cibolo Steele once again looks to be top dawg. The Knights were supposed to be rebuilding last year and all they did was go 11-2. They’ll need to replace some key parts on defense, but there’s a lot of young talent in the mix and the offense returns a boatload of veteran experience. Pieper, up from 5A and with a new head coach, gets the edge for the two-seed over San Marcos, which was a regional semi-finalist a year ago. San Marcos' John Walsh likes his junior class a lot. Clemens lost a lot, while Judson has a good core back under their new head coach Vernon Hughes. East Central struggled last year but hopes to improve, while Canyon is also going with a youth movement in 2026.
District 28-6A
This is a heavy North East ISD district with a bit of overflow from Northside ISD just for a little added spice. San Antonio Johnson, fresh off a 13-1 campaign in which they pushed Lake Travis to the brink in the regional final, is back and primed for a run. Offensively, the Jaguars will be one of the best in the state with two Power 5 caliber WR’s and a three-year starter at QB. The big key for Johnson will be how their front seven develops in 2026. Brandeis, which has an outstanding QB in Wynter Smith, gets the slight edge for the two-seed, but Reagan will be a force as the Rattlers return nine defensive starters. San Antonio Roosevelt with their 15 returning starters is the pick for the four-seed of what is a young Clark team and a Madison bunch that has a new head coach in 2026.
District 29-6A
Northside ISD’s district has been dominated the past few seasons by Brennan and Harlan and that trend expects to continue in 2026. Harlan, which won the district a year ago, must replace their head coach who left for San Antonio Pieper, but the Hawks do return 15 starters. Brennan only has 10 starters back and although the Bears may have better front-line, big-name type talent, I like Harlan’s depth. Sotomayor has quickly established themselves as a viable playoff contender the past few seasons and I think that trend continues for the Wildcats in 2026. It’s a three team race for that final playoff spot between Warren, which has the most experience back, O’Connor, which was a surprise playoff team a year ago, and Taft, which is always in contention.
District 30-6A
This district pulls in the far southwestern edges of the San Antonio area and swings down to the border picking up United ISD in Laredo, Eagle Pass and Del Rio. Laredo United is a consistent winner down in far South Texas and David Sanchez’s bunch looks ready for another district title led by one of the state’s top WR’s in Colt Lozano. Southwest moves up from Class 5A where they were a regional semifinalist in 2024. The Dragons fell back a bit last year going 8-3 but 10 starters back on offense gives Alex Franco’s squad hope they can make the adjustment to Class 6A. It’s a three team race for the last playoff spot with Alexander, LBJ and Eagle Pass looking to crash the playoff party. Southwest Legacy could be another playoff party crasher as the Titans posted a 7-3 mark a year ago in 5A but missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker.
District 31-6A
The only reason the Rio Grande Valley was able to get two districts in this alignment is because Edinburg CISD elected to opt Vela and Edinburg High up to 6A so that their four high schools could play in the same district. They are joined by Weslaco and La Joya in a six-team loop, where Roy Stroman’s Weslaco Panthers are looking like the team to beat once again after a district title a year ago. Edinburg Vela, which has been a force at the 5A level in the Valley in recent years, jumps back to 6A with a veteran returning group on offense, but the Sabercats defense does feature plenty of question marks. Economedes has been a great turn-around story the last two seasons after being a bottom feeder for quite some time. They were 9-2 a year ago, but they needed to upgrade the non-district slate to better prepare them for playoff time. Edinburg High gets the edge for the final playoff spot over La Joya, which was a surprise playoff team a year ago.
District 32-6A
PSJA ISD moves east along Interstate-2 down into the Lower Rio Grande Valley this alignment and the biggest news in the RGV was PSJA North making the move back up to Class 6A after totally dominating the 5A scene in the Valley the past four years. The Raiders are the pick to win the district with an impressive 30 returning lettermen and a physical brand of football that translates to the postseason. Harlingen could be poised to step back to Valley prominence in 2026 with sensational junior QB Hassan Woolery leading the charge for a veteran squad that’s not afraid of a challenge in non-district. Los Fresnos has a solid core back but the Falcons have to replace a four-year starter at the QB slot, while Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s run heavy offense is always a tough out.
PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS AND PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
DIVISION I
W25 Lake Travis vs R26 Austin Bowie
W27 Cibolo Steele vs R28 San Antonio Reagan
W29 San Antonio Harlan vs R30 Laredo LBJ
W31 Weslaco vs R32 Los Fresnos
W26 Buda Johnson vs R25 Round Rock
W28 San Antonio Johnson vs R27 Schertz Clemens
W30 Laredo United vs R29 San Antonio Brennan
W32 Harlingen vs R31 Edinburg Economedes
Is this the year San Antonio rises up and finally gets a regional champion at the 6A level in Division I? Johnson looks poised to do so and their path to a regional final isn’t filled with a ton of resistance with the exception of maybe a third round game with Brennan. The real intrigue is at the top of the bracket where a possible area round showdown between Lake Travis and Steele could determine the 210’s fate. A Steele win over Lake Travis would almost guarantee a San Antonio area regional champion.
REGIONAL CHAMPION
San Antonio Johnson over Cibolo Steele
DIVISION II
W25 Austin Westlake vs R26 Buda Hays Consolidated
W27 San Antonio Pieper vs R28 San Antonio Roosevelt
W29 San Antonio Sotomayor vs R30 Laredo Alexander
W31 Edinburg Vela vs R32 Brownsville Veterans Memorial
W26 Dripping Springs vs R25 Round Rock Cedar Ridge
W28 San Antonio Brandeis vs R27 San Marcos
W30 San Antonio Southwest vs R29 San Antonio Warren
W32 PSJA North vs R31 Edinburg
As much as San Antonio may rise up in Division I, Division II could be an all-Austin affair as Westlake and Dripping Springs look like the top two teams easily in the region. What will be the most intriguing is who are the teams who could advance to the regional semifinals on Thanksgiving weekend? I think Sotomayor gets the nod at the top of the bracket, while PSJA North gets the edge to carry the RGV flag into Thanksgiving weekend.
REGIONAL CHAMPION
Dripping Springs over Austin Westlake
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