The Texas high school football playoffs are a bracket only rivaled by the NCAA's March Madness (although we get 12 brackets instead of one). And just like in March, madness happens in Round 1.

Whether by realignment, forfeited wins or just a plain old tough draw, here are the wildest first-round matchups.

Coppell Cowboys (10-0) vs Prosper Eagles (8-2)

Coppell clinched back-to-back district championships and a 10-0 regular season record. The reward? Playing the state's highest-profile Round 1 matchup against Prosper.

This game has starpower usually reserved for Jerry World. Coppell is averaging 46.7 points per game behind Baylor quarterback commit Edward Griffin, who's thrown for 38 touchdowns to just two interceptions. He has one of the state's most underrated wide receiver duos to throw to in Rice commit Tucker Cusano and 1,000-yard receiver Harry Hassmann. 

But Prosper finished second in District 6-6A, with only two losses - to Austin Westlake and undefeated Allen. The Eagles have five Division I recruits along the offensive line, headlined by Texas A&M commit Connor Carty and the state's most offered 2026 recruit, Zaden Krempin.

Cedar Park Timberwolves (6-4) vs Red Oak Hawks (6-4)

It's the Michael Quintero bowl. Quintero, Cedar Park's head coach, was the 'Black Rain' defensive coordinator from 2007-15 and took over as head man in 2021. But in between, he led Red Oak to their deepest playoff run program history, a 9-3 regional final finish in 2020. 

Red Oak absorbed the loss of star wide receiver and Baylor commit Taz Williams Jr. to finish 4-1. They still have a wide receiver corps to test Cedar Park's secondary. Leading receiver Brayden Robinson has 36 offers, and Charles Taplin is a Michigan State commit.

Gunter Tigers (8-2) vs Cedar Hill TLC Tigers (2-8)

Don't look at Cedar Hill TLC's record as an indication of their on-field performance. The Tigers went 9-1 this season but were forced to forfeit eight games due to playing three ineligible players. One win came because Dallas Gateway's field was deemed unplayable, and their second came in the regular season finale, 64-0, over Dallas Inspired Vision. The 2-3 district record was good enough for a playoff berth. The bad news: they drew back-to-back state champion Gunter.

After a 1-2 start in one of the state's toughest non-district schedules, Gunter bounced back to finish the regular season 7-0.

Nederland Bulldogs (7-3)  vs Texas High Tigers (10-0)

Three weeks ago, Nederland was on top of the world after beating Port Neches-Groves in Mid County Madness, setting up an inside track to win District 7-5A DII. But two consecutive losses bounced them to fourth place, and set up a brutal travel schedule for Round 1. Nederland takes an almost five-hour road trip, and waiting on the other side is undefeated Texarkana Texas High. Led by backfield mates Javari Johnson and Tradarian Ball, the Tigers are scoring 48.6 points per game.

Pecos Eagles (3-7) vs Lampasas Badgers (8-2)

Lampasas High School and Pecos High School are five hours and 31 minutes away from each other, so they'll play at a neutral site in Wall. Lampasas boasts a star quarterback in Reed Jerome, and its only two losses are to Waco University in the last eight seconds and to 9-1 Stephenville.