Regional Outlook

The past three seasons Region I in 5A-Division II has been totally dominated by Lubbock Cooper and Wichita Falls Rider who have played in the regional finals the past three seasons. Will someone else step up and challenge the two powers in 3-5A Division II or are we looking at a fourth straight matchup between these two rivals in the post-season?

The suburban El Paso district is a three-horse race with Parkland, Canutillo and fast-rising Horizon all with a punchers chance at winning the district. Ysleta with their veteran offense that brings back eight starters gets the edge over Hanks who was winless in 2020.

El Paso ISD is top heavy with Andress and Burges at the top expecting to fight it out for the district title after last year’s truncated schedule that was filled with several cancelations that saw the top teams not play each other. Look for El Paso Austin to be a solid bet for the third spot with their veteran defensive unit anchored by eight returning starters. The fourth spot is up for grabs, with the edge going to Irvin at the moment, the Rockets shared in the district title a year ago.

3-5A Division II has been dominated in recent years by Lubbock Cooper and Wichita Falls Rider and despite heavy graduation losses there’s no reason to believe those two won’t again be among the regional favorites. Cooper gets the early nod as they weren’t hit quite as hard by graduation. Abilene Wylie got things turned around a year ago and made the playoffs and the Bulldogs appear a good bet for the third spot. Fourth place is totally up for grabs, Wichita Falls with their experience gets the early edge over Randall and what looks to be an improved Plainview squad.

Grapevine should roll through 4-5A Division II without much issue and the Mustangs will be a real force inside of the region, but a potential third round playoff matchup with the champion of 3-5A Division II does loom. Fort Worth Southwest is the early leader for the runner-up slot, but they’ll need to hold off a strong challenge from an up and coming Wyatt squad that returns a ton from a very young team in 2021 and what should be improved teams from Creekview and South Hills. North Side, fresh off back to back playoff appearances will feature a much younger team, but the Steers won’t be a pushover.

District Predictions

District 1-5A Division II

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

District 2-5A Division II

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

District 3-5A Division II

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

District 4-5A Division II

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

Predicted Playoff Matchups

W1 El Paso Parkland vs. F2 El Paso Irvin

R4 Fort Worth Southwest vs. T3 Abilene Wylie

W2 El Paso Andress vs. F1 El Paso Ysleta

R3 Wichita Falls Rider vs. T4 Fort Worth Wyatt

W3 Lubbock Cooper vs. F4 Carrollton Creekview

R2 El Paso Burges vs. T1 Clint Horizon

W4 Grapevine vs. F3 Wichita Falls

R1 Canutillo vs. T2 El Paso Austin

Regional Winner

Lubbock Cooper over Wichita Falls Rider