2018 Region Outlooks: 5A Division II Region IV – Tivy leans on strong JV season and Calallen reloads

Photo by Tim Hutchton

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Previously: 

6A: Region I / Region II / Region III / Region IV

5A DI: Region I / Region II / Region III / Region IV

5A DII: Region I Region II / Region III

Today’s spotlight: Class 5A Division II Region IV

Realignment brought some interesting changes to Region IV in Division II for Class 5A. Maybe the biggest change is Brenham’s move to Region IV. We’ll touch on that below, but the Cubs move to 13-5A Division II with an Austin based district that includes new program Pflugerville Weiss. 14-5A Division II may be top-to-bottom the deepest district in the region with district favorites Kerrville Tivy and Boerne Champion leading the way. Alamo Heights and Lockhart will be in the mix along with San Antonio Memorial who won its first district title in school history a year ago. District 15-5A Division II is a heavy travel district as teams on the southern edge of San Antonio (San Antonio Southside and Somerset) join schools along the coast. There will be some travel for Laredo Cigarroa, who is on an island in 16-5A Division II, as it travels east into the Valley for all of its games. The closest district opponent for Cigarroa is Roma located 87 miles away.

Brenham

The Cubs will have a new coach in 2018 and will be in a new region as well as the Cubs move to Region IV where they will be in an Austin based district. Graduation really depleted the ranks offensively, but the Cubs always reload and have talent waiting in the wings, so don’t expect too much of a drop. While that young offense finds their footing, expect the defense led by LB’s Tyree Jackson, Colby Watts and Daylonn McCowan to lead the way.

Corpus Christi Calallen

After playing for a state title in 2016, injuries and an outstanding Austin McCallum squad derailed the Wildcats shot at finally winning a state title for the legendary Phil Danaher. Calallen has a lot of holes to fill due to graduation, but its Wing-T offense does bring back its feature back Alec Brown who is one of the top backs in South Texas. The Wildcat defense may be the strength of the team, especially along the defensive line with the return of Seth Kelly and Luke Youngblood and LB Matt Castro. Calallen will be the big favorite in 15-5A Division II and come playoff time, Danaher’s squad will be a tough out.

Kerrville Tivy

The Antlers posted an impressive 10-3 record and took Calallen to the brink in the third round of the playoffs and head coach David Jones welcomes back plenty of offensive talent led by QB Karson Valverde. The senior QB had over 2,100 yards of total offense a year ago and 23 touchdowns, he’s joined by WR’s John Vela and Brooks McCoy along with two starters on the offensive line. The real question for Tivy will be how it goes about replacing nine graduated seniors on the defensive side of the ball and 32 other seniors. That’s where having a 10-0 JV team to fill the ranks will be a big benefit. If that young talent can grow like most think they will, Tivy’s going to be a force.

Alice

The Coyotes a year ago showed they were back on the discussion in the Region IV mix advancing to the third round of the playoffs under first-year head coach Kyle Atwood. Alice will have to replace a strong group of seniors, but it appears that the momentum is in place now with a full off-season under Atwood.  Devyn Orta, who spent most of the season at WR, will move to QB and trigger the Coyotes spread offense. RB Ismael Cantu and WR AJ Moreno are back along with what should be a solid group up front. Keep an eye on junior WR Waylon Moore, he could have a breakout season too. The defense has just four back, but DB Sean Chapa (57 tackles and 3 INTs) is back along with DE Sergio Sandoval who had a strong sophomore season.

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