Stepp's 5A DII Region IV Picks: District Projections and Playoff Outlook

DISTRICT PREDICTIONS

District 13-5A Division II

1. Boerne
2. Liberty Hill
3. New Braunfels
4. Alamo Heights
5. San Antonio Veterans Memorial
6. New Braunfels Long Creek
7. Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch

There’s a lot of intrigue in this district that is clearly the strongest in Region IV. Boerne has won the regional title in back-to-back years and the Greyhounds may be poised to do it again with a dynamic offense that returns eight starters led by QB Grant Sweeney. Liberty Hill is always tough and moving back to Region IV could serve the Panthers and their deadly Slot-T offense well. But how will the opening of Legacy Ranch High impact the Panthers? New Braunfels is the team I’m watching. The Unicorns were a regional finalist a year ago in Division I and bring back a strong defense. But a new school in Long Creek is opening, so what impact does that have in 2026? It’s odd to see Alamo Heights picked fourth, but the Mules have a new coach and a very young offense. The margins in this district are small and really any of the top four could win the district. I don’t think either new school is ready to challenge for a playoff spot in Year 1 and Veterans Memorial is really in a tough spot alignment wise.

District 14-5A Division II

1. San Antonio Sam Houston
2. San Antonio Harlandale
3. San Antonio Burbank
4. San Antonio McCollum
5. San Antonio Jefferson
6. San Antono Lanier
7. San Antonio Highlands
8. San Antonio Brackenridge
9. San Antonio Edison

This inner San Antonio district doesn’t feature any regional contenders. In fact, it’s pretty likely no one will get out of the first round considering the daunting task of the bi-district matchup. But the games inside the district will be quite competitive, so much so that the top seven teams in this loop all have a case at contending for a playoff spot. Sam Houston gets the nod as the favorite. The Hurricanes have a new coach but they ran the table a year ago and have 16 starters back. Harlandale moves in from a tougher district top to bottom. They are in Year 2 under coach Justin Lozano, but there’s questions at the skill spots. Burbank is the pick for the three-seed on the strength of their experience and 32 lettermen over McCollum, which is very young on offense. Both Jefferson and Lanier were playoff teams a year ago. Jefferson gets the nod for fifth due to their nine starters back on offense. Highlands has 14 starters back and should be improved, but they’ve got a long way to climb after going 2-8 in 2025.

District 15-5A Division II

1. Gregory-Portland
2. Corpus Christi Ray
3. Mercedes
4. Donna
5. Brownsville Pace
6. Brownsville Porter
7. Brownsville Lopez

After realignment, the 5A ranks in the Coastal Bend were certainly depleted leaving just three teams at the D2 level. One of those teams - Victoria West - shifted north into a Houston district and the two remaining teams - Gregory-Portland and Ray - shift south into a Rio Grande Valley heavy loop. Gregory-Portland looks primed to dominate the district with seven starters back on both sides from an 11-2 squad. The question is can the Wildcats emerge as a regional contender as they’ve stumbled when running into the top teams in the Alamo City in the postseason. Ray will be interesting to watch. They’ve got a great QB in Tripp Thompson and new head coach Brian Herman is known as a Slot-T guru, so how does he merge that philosophy with Thompson’s ability to make plays? Look to what Les Goad did when he went to Hays Consolidated as maybe a template for Ray, which could have their best team in several years. Mercedes, who dominated in the Valley last year going 11-0 before losing to Alamo Heights in the area round, brings enough back to be in the mix, while Donna appears poised for just their third playoff appearance since 2015.

District 16-5A Division II

1. Mission Veterans Memorial
2. Mission Sharyland Pioneer
3. Mission Sharyland
4. Roma
5. PSJA Southwest
6. Laredo Cigarroa
7. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln

This is almost an all-RGV district except we do have Laredo Cigarroa joining this group instead of opting up to Division I with the other Laredo ISD schools. Cigarroa should be able to compete on more even terms under new HC Benny Ellison. The mantle of district favorite goes again to Mission Vets, which rolled to 10 wins a year ago. The Patriots are young on offense but they have one of the Valley’s top signal-callers in QB Roman Reyna. Sharyland Pioneer and Sharyland on paper are a dead heat for the two-seed. Pioneer gets the ever so slight edge, but this is a coin flip. Roma, a playoff team last year, should again make the postseason as the Gladiators welcome back 15 starters.

PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS AND PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

W13 Boerne vs F14 San Antonio McCollum

R16 Mission Sharyland Pioneer vs T15 Mercedes

W14 San Antonio Sam Houston vs F13 Alamo Heights

R15 Corpus Christi Ray vs T16 Mission Sharyland

W15 Gregory-Portland vs F16 Roma

R14 San Antonio Harlandale vs T13 New Braunfels

W16 Mission Veterans Memorial vs F15 Donna

R13 Liberty Hill vs T14 San Antonio Burbank

Don’t be surprised if we get an all 13-5A Division II regional semifinal showdown Thanksgiving weekend. The four teams in this loop have a strong case as being the best teams in the region. The only team I can see with a good shot at breaking up the monopoly is Gregory-Portland, but they’ve struggled in the playoffs against top Alamo City teams, as evidenced by blowout losses in recent years in the playoffs to Alamo Heights and a 38-7 loss to Boerne last year. Boerne is the pick for a three-peat, but any one of the top four in 13-5A can win this region.

REGIONAL CHAMPION

Boerne over New Braunfels