Stepp's 6A Region II Picks: District Projections and Playoff Outlook

Wylie East has dominated the Garland ISD heavy district the past few years and the Raiders again should be ready to defend their crown with a dozen returning starters. Sachse, who has been toe to toe with Wylie East will field a much younger squad, while Wylie gets the edge for the three seed. Keep an eye on Naaman Forest, the Rangers nearly knocked off Longview in bi-district and they return thirteen total starters. Garland brings back seven starters on both sides of the ball, while watch out for North Garland who returns an incredible ten starters on both sides of the ball. The Raiders could be one of the area’s most improved teams.

10-6A top to bottom is one of the best districts in the entire state with five teams all that could make a case for a playoff spot. There’s two tiers of teams in this loop in my view, we start at the top with Longview who was the district and regional champion a year ago. The Lobos expect to contend once again in 2025, but North Forney with sixteen returning starters from an area round playoff team will be a force as well. There’s three teams behind those two teams fighting for those final two playoff spots with Rockwall, Rockwall-Heath and Forney. Heath brings back the most experience and they beat Rockwall a year ago, but they missed out on the playoffs a year ago. If the two Rockwall ISD schools make the playoffs that also would push North Forney to Division II which would shake the playoff brackets up. Royse City with a great sophomore group should take a step forward, but I don’t expect them to contend for the playoffs until 2026. Tyler Legacy suffered a big blow in spring ball when their starting QB went down with a season ending injury.

11-6A has been known in the DFW area as the “district of doom,” but 2025 features a lot more questions in this district that usual. Duncanville has won the district six of the past seven years and the Panthers enter as the favorites, but they graduated elite talent at QB and WR, so the Panthers offense will look much different. We do know Duncanville’s defense will be among the best in the state and that is a comforting thought for Panthers fans. DeSoto crashed out in the regional finals a year ago and the Eagles have questions with graduation hitting them hard at the offensive skill spots and the offensive line. They still have a big-time talent at WR and RB, but the key for the Eagles will be improving in the defensive front seven, where at times they struggled stopping the run. Waxahachie is as talented as anyone in Texas, is this the year the Indians make a move into the top of the district? While Lancaster when hitting on all cylinders can play with anyone, but can WEBO put consistent performances out week in and week out against a brutal non-district slate? Cedar Hill had a monster 2023 season, but was among the biggest disappointments in the state a year ago, while Mesquite expects to be much-improved after a rough 2024 campaign.

The Super CenTex will be super competitive once again and with 11-6A having more questions than normal, could the district have a team or two advance out of the bi-district playoffs? Harker Heights, who lost a heartbreaker in the first-round last year looks like the pick to repeat as district champs on the strength of a veteran offense that returns eight starters. Temple’s right on the Knights’ heels with new head coach Chad President leading the way after being promoted from offensive coordinator. Midway with seven back on both sides of the ball has the most experience back and in year two under Joe Gillespie, we should see improvement. Shoemaker has dynamic potential in the running game, but the Wolves do have questions in the trenches going into 2025.

13-6A is another strong district across the board with six teams who look to be competing for the playoffs realistically. The Woodlands has fallen short to Willis the past two years, but fresh off a State 7-on-7 crown, the Highlanders look ready to ascend with an elite signal caller and a veteran defense with eight returning starters. Willis after back-to-back 12-1 seasons has big questions going into 2025 specifically at the QB spot, but they do have maybe the best player in the state in Jermaine Bishop. The third and fourth playoff spots should be a total battle with four outstanding teams challenging for two playoff spots in Conroe and College Park, who both made the area playoffs. Grand Oaks and Oak Ridge both return a ton and could absolutely challenge as well.

14-6A struggled in the playoffs a year ago getting swept in bi-district by 13-6A, several teams in this loop expect to be improved but is that enough to get over the hump against their neighbors to the north? Westfield has dominated the district recently and the Mustangs expect to once again be the front-runners, but fast rising Aldine Nimitz with fifteen starters returning is primed to be a serious threat to Westfield’s dominance. Aldine Davis got back into the playoffs a year ago and the Falcons with seven back on both sides of the ball could be even better in 2025. Dekaney is the pick for the final playoff spot, especially with a young Eisenhower team going through some transition. MacArthur with fourteen starters back will be one of Houston’s most improved teams in 2025.

15-6A was one of the wildest playoff races of the year last year as it came down to the last week of the season and a two point conversion that put one team into the playoffs and kept another team on the outside looking in. Klein Collins was one of the strangest teams to follow last year as the Tigers struggled at times a year ago, but found their way into the playoffs and then ended up in the regional semifinals. They get the edge with thirteen starters returning over Tomball who was the district runner-up last year and fresh off a 10-2 mark. Klein Cain, who won the district title a year ago has a lot of holes to fill, but they have the biggest overall numbers in the district. Klein has a lot of talent and excitement under a new head coach, while Klein Oak has one of the nation’s top running backs, but they lost a lot around him. Magnolia finished 5-5 and barely missed the playoffs, but the Bulldogs return fifteen starters.

Bridgeland posted their best season in school history in 2024 advancing all the way to the regional finals before falling to Duncanville in a hard-fought game. The Bears lost a big senior class of 52 players so that could swing the door open for Cy Ranch. The Mustangs enter Will Blaylock’s second season with a lot of momentum after going 8-4 and with a strong group back, expect them to contend for the district title and to be a team that plays into December. Cypress Springs has no shortage of talent and they’ve emerged under head coach Oji Fagan, the question is now can they take the next step? Cy Lakes is one of my real sleepers, with fifteen starters back under second year head coach Tyrone Carter, this is a team that could make their first trip to the playoffs in school history.

DISTRICT PREDICTIONS

• Division I Teams In BOLD
• District enrollment rank in parenthesis

District 9-6A

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

District 10-6A

1. Longview (7)
2. North Forney (5)
3. Forney (6)
4. Rockwall-Heath (1)
5. Rockwall (2)
6. Royse City (3)
7. Tyler Legacy (4)

District 11-6A

1. Duncanville (1)
2. DeSoto (8)
3. Waxahachie (3)
4. Lancaster (7)
5. Cedar Hill (6)
6. Mesquite (5)
7. Mesquite Horn (4)
8. Dallas Skyline (2)

District 12-6A

1. Killeen Harker Heights (6)
2. Temple (3)
3. Waco Midway (1)
4. Killeen Shoemaker (5)
5. Copperas Cove (4)
6. Bryan (2)
7. Killeen (7)

District 13-6A

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

District 14-6A

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

District 15-6A

1. Klein Collins (5)
2. Tomball (7)
3. Klein Cain (1)
4. Klein (4)
5. Klein Oak (2)
6. Magnolia (9)
7. Tomball Memorial (6)
8. Magnolia West (8)
9. Klein Forest (3)

District 16-6A

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

PROJECTED DIVISION I BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS

W9 Sachse vs R10 Rockwall-Heath

W11 Duncanville vs R12 Waco Midway

W13 The Woodlands vs R14 Aldine Davis

W15 Klein Cain vs R16 Bridgeland

W10 North Forney vs R9 Wylie

W12 Temple vs R11 Waxahachie

W14 Aldine Nimitz vs R13 Conroe

W16 Cypress Ranch vs R15 Klein

DIVISION I REGIONAL CHAMPION

Duncanville over Cypress Ranch

PROJECTED DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS

W9 Wylie East vs R10 Forney

W11 DeSoto vs R12 Killeen Shoemaker

W13 Willis vs R14 Spring Dekaney

W15 Klein Collins vs R16 Cypress Lakes

W10 Longview vs R9 Garland Naaman Forest

W12 Killeen Harker Heights vs R11 Lancaster

W14 Spring Westfield vs R13 Conroe Grand Oaks

W16 Cypress Springs vs R15 Tomball

DIVISION II REGIONAL CHAMPION

Longview over DeSoto