The Most Intriguing TXHSFB Programs Moving DOWN in 2026-28 Realignment

Cedar Hill Longhorns - 6A to 5A DI

Cedar Hill has been a 6A stalwart since 2013. The Longhorns won a state championship in 2014 under Joey McGuire, made a state championship under Carlos Lynn in 2020 and reached the fourth round of the playoffs in 2023 under Nick Ward.

But the Longhorns haven’t had a double-digit win season in five years, and now drop from arguably the toughest 6A district in Texas (11-6A) to 5A DI. In his latest mock realignment, Matt Stepp has Cedar Hill, Lancaster and DeSoto all moving from 11-6A to join Mansfield Legacy, Mansfield Summit, Cleburne, Burleson Centennial and Midlothian. 

Texas Tech defensive line commit Jalen Brewster leads Cedar Hill’s defense.

Corpus Christi Miller Buccaneers - 5A DII to 4A DI

Why did Corpus Christi Miller finish 4-7 in 2025 after back-to-back trips to the regional final? Here’s a snapshot of the season. 

“In the DeSoto game, I started a kid (David Villareal Jr.) that was 13 years old in the backfield, and I didn’t even know he was 13 years old until like two months later,” Miller head coach Justen Evans said. 

Villareal was far from the only freshman starter. Miller rotated between two freshmen at quarterback, and had three sophomores starting on the offensive line. But when Evans asked Villareal how old he actually was, he found out how far Miller’s youth movement had reached. Villareal was young for his grade, then skipped a grade in middle school during COVID.   

“You’re supposed to be in seventh grade right now,” Evans said.

While last year was the program’s first losing season since 2017, Evans is confident the fight back from an 0-5 will be a foundational moment for the future of his program. Miller’s two quarterbacks each showed flashes of future stardom. David James was named to Dave Campbell’s Rising Top 25 for the Class of 2029, while Jayden Herrera broke Miller’s single-game record with nine touchdown passes against Corpus Christi King. 

In the last realignment cycle, Miller’s 1,397 students put them 82 away from Class 4A, and that tally included kids in Miller’s alternative school. Matt Stepp’s latest mock realignment slots them in a district with CC King, CC Moody, CC Calallen, Tuloso-Midway and Pleasanton.

El Paso Andress Eagles - 5A DII to 4A DI

El Paso Andress will drop a classification after posting a 9-3 record, the best season since 2021. The Eagles graduate 26 seniors, but the cupboard is far from bare.

QB Jamari Milton shared Co-District 1-5A DII MVP with Arizona State signee Jake Fette and UTEP signee Daveon Singleton. He returns one of his top weapons in Aavant Clayton, who had 1,104 all-purpose yards as a sophomore. On defense, secondary ballhawk Elijah Cooper will be a four-year starter. He is the younger brother of former Arizona safety Tristan Cooper and Transfer Portal safety Jeremiah Cooper (most recently at Iowa State).

The move to 4A could help Andress come playoff time. Last year, the Eagles lost to Melissa in the second round, a program that had 2,203 students compared to Andress’s 1,272.

But there are hidden challenges with the drop. If Matt Stepp’s latest mock realignment came to fruition, Andress would be in the same district as Midland Greenwood and Andrews, schools that are over four hours away and in a different time zone. In addition, only 5A schools and above get to participate in spring football, a valuable time to set the depth chart. 4A schools are allowed to play two fall scrimmages compared to 5A and above schools’ one. But if all 4A teams from El Paso are in the same district, they wouldn’t be ideal to scrimmage.

Lorena Leopards - 4A DII to 3A DI

The last time Lorena was in Class 3A, the Leopards won the 2021 state championship and had three double-digit win seasons in four seasons. In the 2024-26 realignment cycle, Lorena’s 555 students put them 11 over the 4A cutoff. But head coach Kevin Johnson says that by the time Lorena entered 2025, they were back to playing with 3A numbers. The Leopards went 5-15 over the last two seasons. Now, they’ll be the fifth-biggest school in all of 3A.

Lorena returns a plethora of skill position players, including District 12-4A DII Offensive Newcomer of the Year Brock Deleon and other all-district honorees, such as QB Jaxon Blancett and WR Zachary Espinoza. The Leopards have quality linemen, but not as much depth up front as in years past. The move to 3A should help if Lorena can stay healthy. 

Matt Stepp’s latest mock realignment has Lorena returning to a district with Franklin, Cameron Yoe, McGregor and Rockdale. But Caldwell and Smithville also dropping to 3A has put Lorena in limbo between this southern district, or a more northern draw with teams such as Whitney and West.

Sinton Pirates - 4A DII to 3A DI

Since 2019, the Sinton Pirates have made the state semifinals once (2025), the fourth round of the playoffs twice (2024, 2023), the third round three times (2019, 2020, 2021) and the second round once (2022). But the best memory was in 2022 when, after three non-district losses, a player bet head coach Michael Troutman that if Sinton won district, Troutman would get Sinton’s never-ending ‘S’ logo tattooed on his arm. 

“It runs deep,” Troutman said. “Literally, it runs ink-deep on my skin.”

Now, they drop to 3A for the first time since 2013. Despite the sustained success, Troutman says the drop down was not a surprise. Ever since elementary school, the current 8th-, 9th- and 10th-grade classes have had lower enrollment. 

Sinton, at 13-2, made it the farthest of any team in District 15-4A DII, but was the only program to drop down a classification. Troutman expects that they’ll play some of their former district foes in this year’s non-district schedule. 

For Troutman, one hidden challenge of the drop to 3A will be scheduling sub-varsity games. Unlike many Class 3A schools, Sinton fields JV and freshman football teams rather than a single sub-varsity team. So instead of planning every sub-varsity team to play the same opponent as the varsity team, Sinton must find JV-only or freshman-only games.

Brady Bulldogs - 3A DII to 2A DI

Brady has made the playoffs in Class 3A every year since 2018. Now, the Bulldogs drop to 2A at an inflection point for the program - entering Year Four of the Jaron Roberts era. 

Matt Stepp’s latest mock realignment has Brady in a district with Ballinger, Coleman, Bangs and De Leon. Being in central Texas, Brady could realistically go to Region I, II, or IV. The unknown makes it difficult for Brady to schedule non-district games against 2A programs, so Brady is instead scheduling 3A opponents to prepare them for whatever the district schedule is. 

The Bulldogs return District 5-3A DII Co-MVP Nasir Menefield, a two-way lineman who could wreak havoc in 2026.