REGIONAL OUTLOOK

Region II covers a wide and diverse group of teams from the DFW area and East Texas, to Central Texas down to Austin and into the northern Houston suburbs. The candidates to win this title are as diverse as the geography.

Garland ISD was dominated by Garland High a year ago, but the Owls were upset in the first round of the playoffs and were gutted by graduation. That should open the door for Naaman Forest, the 2020 district champions, to rise back to the top and hold off Sachse. Lakeview Centennial had to forfeit a key game last year due to Covid, which kept them out of the playoffs. The Patriots will be locked in this year. Wylie is always under-estimated, but the Pirates are tough and should hold off North Garland, Garland and Rowlett as GISD has solid depth in the middle of the pack.

The make-up of 10-6A has changed a bit with the addition of North Forney and Royse City up from 5A-Division II, but the power in this district is still in Rockwall ISD with Rockwall and Rockwall-Heath leading the way. Mesquite surged back to the playoffs a year ago and should be back in the playoffs, while 2022 could be the year Mesquite Horn makes a big leap forward under first year head coach Courtney Allen.

Perennial powerhouse Duncanville gets the edge in 11-6A, but the power is shifting a bit in this district as DeSoto, who lost to Duncanville in the regional final, could be primed to pose a serious threat to the Panthers. Fast rising Waxahachie gets the edge over Cedar Hill for third place, but the real intrigue in this district is Waxahachie has now outgrown DeSoto, so if the Indians make the playoffs, they’ll push DeSoto to Division II.

District 12-6A stretches from Waco all the way down to the north Austin suburbs and is full of intrigue as all seven schools can probably make a case for the playoffs. The edge goes to the two CenTex powers in Temple and Harker Heights, who both return the core of outstanding teams from a year ago. The real battle is for those final two slots; Hutto was a 6A playoff team a year ago, but is going through a late coaching change, while Weiss went 11-2 in 5A-Division I. Bryan was also a playoff team a year ago and Vikings fans are excited about their new coach, while Waco Midway is happy to have escaped a brutal alignment with the I-20 schools in DFW. Even Copperas Cove, who has struggled recently, has some optimism under its new head coach.

The Woodlands appears loaded for a big run in 2022 with a veteran returning cast, an elite QB and a couple of high-profile transfers. The Highlanders have designs on being the team from Houston that challenges Duncanville’s dominance in the region. College Park was the surprise district champion in 2020 and the Cavs won a playoff game a year ago; they are a solid bet for second. Conroe and Willis, a surprise playoff team from a year ago, look locked into the final two spots, but 5A move-up New Caney, Grand Oaks and Oak Ridge will all have a say in the playoff race as well.

Spring ISD has dominated 14-6A and expect nothing different in 2022 as the three SISD schools will be at the top of the district standings. Westfield is the team to beat again, but I expect Dekaney to overtake a very young Spring squad for the third spot. Aldine ISD will feature an all-out battle for the final spot, with Ike holding off challenges from Davis and Nimitz, who was a surprise playoff team a year ago.

District 15-6A has proven to be a meat grinder the past few seasons and 2022 should be no different. Klein Collins, which ran through the district with an unbeaten record a year ago, gets the edge for first. The Tigers have a solid core returning and they looked impressive in the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament as well. Klein Cain looks to be a good bet for the second spot, but things get real murky after that. Klein, Klein Forest, Tomball and Klein Oak will fight it out for the last two spots. Tomball finished fourth in the district last year and ended up in the state semifinals.

Cy-Fair ISD always provides entertaining football in 16-6A, but last year’s champion Cy Park has a lot of rebuilding to do after losing a massive senior class. Last year’s regional finalist Bridgeland suffered some heavy graduation losses as well, so that should open the door for Cy Ranch to jump back to the top of the standings. If you are looking for a sleeper, keep an eye on Cy Woods and Cy Falls in this district.

DISTRICT PREDICTIONS

District 9-6A

1. Garland Naaman Forest
2. Sachse
3. Garland Lakeview Cenntennial
4. Wylie
5. North Garland
6. Garland
7. Rowlett
8. Wylie East
9. South Garland

District 10-6A

1. Rockwall
2. Rockwall-Heath
3. Mesquite
4. Mesquite Horn
5. Royse City
6. Tyler Legacy
7. North Forney

District 11-6A

1. Duncanville
2. DeSoto
3. Waxahachie
4. Cedar Hill
5. Mansfield Lake Ridge
6. Mansfield
7. Mansfield Legacy
8. Dallas Skyline

District 12-6A

1. Temple
2. Killeen Harker Heights
3. Hutto
4. Pflugerville Weiss
5. Bryan
6. Waco Midway
7. Copperas Cove

District 13-6A

1. The Woodlands
2. The Woodlands College Park
3. Conroe
4. Willis
5. New Caney
6. Conroe Grand Oaks
7. Conroe Oak Ridge
8. Cleveland
9. Conroe Caney Creek

District 14-6A

1. Spring Westfield
2. Spring Dekaney
3. Spring
4. Aldine Eisenhower
5. Aldine Davis
6. Aldine Nimitz
7. Aldine MacArthur
8. Aldine

District 15-6A

1. Klein Collins
2. Klein Cain
3. Klein
4. Klein Oak
5. Tomball
6. Klein Forest
7. Tomball Memorial
8. Waller

District 16-6A

1. Cypress Ranch
2. Cypress Bridgeland
3. Cypress Woods
4. Cypress Park
5. Cypress Falls
6. Cypress Springs
7. Houston Langham Creek
8. Cypress Lakes

PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS

Division I

W9 Sachse vs R10 Rockwall-Heath

W11 Duncanville vs R12 Hutto

W13 The Woodlands vs R14 Spring

W15 Klein Cain vs R16 Cypress Bridgeland

W10 Rockwall vs R9 Wylie

W12 Temple vs R11 Waxahachie

W14 Spring Westfield vs R13 Conroe

W16 Cypress Ranch vs R15 Klein Oak

Division II

W9 Garland Naaman Forest vs R10 Mesquite Horn

W11 DeSoto vs R12 Pflugerville Weiss

W13 The Woodlands College Park vs R14 Aldine Eisenhower

W15 Klein Collins vs R16 Cypress Park

W10 Mesquite vs R9 Garland Lakeview Centennial

W12 Killeen Harker Heights vs R11 Cedar Hill

W14 Spring Dekaney vs R13 Willis

W16 Cypress Woods vs R15 Klein

REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

Division I

Duncanville over Cypress Ranch

Division II

DeSoto over Killeen Harker Heights