Regional Outlook

UIL Realignment brought very few changes to Region I as the basic set-up of the four districts remains the same. 1-5A Division II features a five-team loop consisting of Ysleta ISD, plus Canutillo and Horizon. Once again Parkland looks to be class of this district, but the gap has definitely closed, look for Canutillo and Hanks to push the Matadors.

District 2-5A Division II is once again an all-El Paso ISD loop and once again Burges, Andress and Austin expect to compete for the district title. A year ago unheralded Austin won the outright title, but expect Burges and their talented array of skill players to get the title this season. Look for Irvin, who returns 19 total starters to get the nod for the fourth and final playoff spot.

3-5A Division II didn’t change as the same six teams will battle it out and at the top it’s more of the same as Lubbock Cooper and Wichita Falls Rider not only look to be the top two teams in the district, but the entire region as well. The battle for the last two spots will be interesting with the district’s other four teams being fairly evenly matched on paper. Canyon Randall and Wichita Falls High advanced to the third round a year ago, but I like Abilene Wylie to edge out WFHS for the last playoff spot this year. Don’t be surprised if district tiebreakers once again have to be used to determine playoff spots.

4-5A Division II is primarily a Fort Worth ISD loop, but the two favorites in the district are a pair of Division I drop downs in Grapevine and Carrollton Creekview. Grapevine should dominate the district, while Creekview looks to benefit greatly moving out of a tough district where they finished in sixth place a year ago. Wyatt looks to be top FWISD entry, while South Hills, another Division I drop down gets the nod for fourth over North Side, Southwest and Class 6A drop down Trimble Tech.

District Predictions

District 1-5A Division II

1. El Paso Parkland
2. Canutillo
3. El Paso Hanks
4. El Paso Ysleta
5. Clint Horizon

District 2-5A Division II

1. El Paso Burges
2. El Paso Andress
3. El Paso Austin
4. El Paso Irvin
5. El Paso Bowie
6. El Paso Jefferson
7. El Paso

District 3-5A Division II

1. Lubbock Cooper
2. Wichita Falls Rider
3. Canyon Randall
4. Abilene Wylie
5. Wichita Falls
6. Plainview

District 4-5A Division II

1. Grapevine
2. Carrollton Creekview
3. Fort Worth Wyatt
4. Fort Worth South Hills
5. Fort Worth North Side
6. Fort Worth Southwest
7. Fort Worth Trimble Tech
8. Fort Worth Polytechnic

Predicted Playoff Matchups

W1 El Paso Parkland vs F2 El Paso Irvin

R4 Carrollton Creekview vs T3 Canyon Randall

W2 El Paso Burges vs F1 El Paso Ysleta

R3 Wichita Falls Rider vs T4 Fort Worth Wyatt

W3 Lubbock Cooper vs F4 Fort Worth South Hills

R2 El Paso Andress vs T1 El Paso Hanks

W4 Grapevine vs F3 Abilene Wylie

R1 Canutillo vs T2 El Paso Austin

Playoff Sleeper

Grapevine: The Mustangs drop down to Division II after being a very solid Division I playoff entry in a tough district. This is a team that should cruise to a district title and a third-round playoff appearance, the big question will be how do the Mustangs handle a potential regional semifinal with Lubbock Cooper or Wichita Falls Rider?   

Regional Winner

Lubbock Cooper over Wichita Falls Rider: Will these two district rivals meet up in the regional final for the third straight year?? Cooper has won both of the regular season meetings and won last year’s matchup in the playoffs, avenging Rider’s win in the 2018 regional finals. Rider brings back just a bit more experience, but Cooper’s got the edge up front. If they meet in the playoffs, this one could be the best game between the two yet, expect an absolute war.