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

DISTRICT PREDICTIONS

District 9-6A

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

Wylie East ran the table in this district and in the regular season going 10-0, but things came crashing down in the playoffs for the Raiders as they were blown out by Rockwall-Heath in bi-district. A strong senior class has graduated and the defense will have a lot of work to do, but Marcus Gold’s squad should have enough to hold off what should be a really dangerous Rowlett squad. Rowlett was a surprise playoff team last year and with 15 starters back, the Eagles are a legitimate threat to contend for the district crown. Sachse with a veteran QB back and half their starters returning will be right there with Rowlett as chief contender to Wylie East. Lakeview Centennial’s front-line talent and experience should be enough to put them past Wylie, but the Patriots have to find ways to put things together as games aren’t won on paper. North Garland is a real sleeper; the Raiders will be plenty experienced.

District 10-6A

1. Longview (8)
2. North Forney (5)
3. Rockwall-Heath (1)
4. Royse City (4)
5. Rockwall (3)
6. Forney (2)
7. Tyler Legacy (6)
8. Mesquite Horn (7)

A year ago, this was one of the deeper districts in the state. But after the area round of the playoffs, only Forney was left standing and they were eliminated in the third round. The depth is there again this year, but it could be a different cast of teams in the mix. One thing that remains consistent is it appears Longview and North Forney will be battling for the district title much like last year. Although North Forney brings more back across the board, the edge goes to Longview because the Lobos have the veteran experience at QB and the game Week 4 is at Lobo Stadium. Those two look very likely to be the Division II seeds based on lower enrollments. Rockwall-Heath, despite their new coach, looks to be a strong bet for that third-seed with QB Prosper Neal and ATH Carter Zahm returning. The key for the Hawks will be if they show improvement on defense. Royse City is the surprise team for the four-seed; the Bulldogs defense is loaded with experience. Although the offense is low on returning starters, they have a load of guys who got experience a year ago. Coach Colvin’s been waiting on this now strong junior class to be impactful and 2026 could be that year.

District 11-6A

1. Waxahachie (3)
2. Duncanville (1)
3. North Crowley (4)
4. Mansfield Lake Ridge (5)
5. Crowley (7)
6. Mansfield (6)
7. Red Oak (8)
8. Dallas Skyline (2)

The new "District of Doom" is just an absolute meat grinder. Gone is DeSoto, Cedar Hill and Lancaster. In is North Crowley (2024 state champions, regional finalist a year ago) and a senior-heavy Mansfield Lake Ridge squad that advanced to the area playoffs a year ago. Waxahachie enters the year as the state’s top ranked team and it’s a now or never season for the Indians. They split with Duncanville a year ago - both games were down to the wire - so the mystique of  Duncanville isn’t going to phase WHS. Lawrence Williams’ squad is loaded with talent. The key will be development of youth at the LB spot after the teams best returning LB transferred to Denton Ryan. Duncanville went through up’s and down’s on and off the field a year ago but still ended up playing for a state title despite the adversity. The Panthers will be dynamic on offense and I expect them to be able to run the football much more efficiently in 2026 after struggling at times to establish the run. The big question will be on the defensive line where DHS lost two big-time signees. North Crowley, much like Waxahachie, has a new head coach, but the hire was internal. The Panthers bring a lot back, but they’ll likely be breaking in a new signal-caller and much of the offensive line has to be replaced. On the flip side ,NCHS has maybe the best tandem of RB’s in the district and the top secondary as well. Lake Ridge has 40 lettermen back from a 9-3 squad. They’ve got elite skill talent, but the defense does have some question marks. Crowley, with seven on offense and five back on defense, looks best equipped to contend to crash the playoff party.

District 12-6A

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

There was some hope among the teams in this district that maybe the Realignment Gods would be favorable and move this district away from 11-6A. However, a little bad luck and geography played a part and once again the playoff teams in this loop have to knock heads with the monsters in the southern sector of DFW. Harker Heights has dominated in this loop the past few seasons and they’ve been the one team that has had some playoff success; they were a regional finalist in 2022 and last year were a play or two away from a trip to the third round. Offensively, the Knights are loaded and if the young defense can step up they should hold off a strong Midway squad led by one of the state’s top RB’s in Lathan Whisenton, a Notre Dame commit. Copperas Cove was a surprise playoff team a year ago and should be even better in Year 2 under HC Rodney Southern. They get the nod over Temple also under a second year head coach in Chad President. Lake Belton was a consistent playoff team in 5A and they make the move to 6A under former Austin Westlake assistant coach Kirk Rogers.

District 13-6A  

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

College Park rolled to their first district title a year ago and although a lot of key pieces are back, there’s a new leader on the sidelines after Kyle Coats’ departure for Humble Atascocita. The Cavaliers still have the personnel to make a deep run led by QB Camden Hughes and WR Julian Cromartie, and one of the top interior defensive lines in the state. Willis pushed all the way to a regional final last year with a freshman QB leading the way. Now five-star ATH Jermaine Bishop is gone, but QB Lincoln Fazier still has a talented cast of playmakers around him and the Wildkats expect to better on the defensive side of the ball. The Woodlands has dominated the district historically, and although the Highlanders expect to be very strong, a third place finish isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Grand Oaks made their first playoff appearance a year ago and then proceeded to win their first playoff game in school history. The Grizzlies should have enough to hold off Conroe, whose enrollment has skyrocketed to well over 5,000 students; the Tigers will soon see their talent pool shrink as Conroe ISD’s seventh high school as Timber Mills will open next August and play varsity football in 2028.

District 14-6A  

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

A year ago Westfield, Nimitz and Davis all had a share of the district title and those three look to be the cream of the crop in this district that hopes to have better playoff showing after getting swept out of the bi-district round by 13-6A in 2025. Spring Westfield, who actually has 5A numbers, looks to be the team to beat as the Mustangs feature what may be one of the top defensive units in the Houston area. Davis has slowly improved each year under head coach Kelvin Chatham and the Falcons could be primed for a breakout campaign with a some explosive skill talent on hand. Nimitz should be very good on defense, but the Cougars offense has questions. That should be enough to hold off tough challenges from Eisenhower and Dekaney. If you want a sleeper to dream on, don’t sleep on Aldine MacArthur. Blake Ware has the Generals believing they can contend for a playoff spot this year.

District 15-6A

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

As competitive as this district typically is from top to bottom, it is equally full of questions heading into 2026 as there’s as many as seven teams who can make a legitimate claim for a playoff spot. Klein Collins, who won the district a year ago, didn’t escape with an unblemished record, but they did push to the regional semifinals before being eliminated by Duncanville. They are the team of record in this loop winning nine of the last 11 district titles, but they lost a huge senior class. Klein brings back a lot of talent from last year’s team that started strong but faded late, getting their QB back who missed all of last year will be big and getting WR Mike Brown eligible is a major boost. But off the field concerns with the coaching staff has cast some bad light on the program. How will the team respond is unknown. Klein Oak is uber-talented and they bring seven back on both sides, but the Panthers stumbled out of the playoff race a year ago. Can they bounce back after a surprise playoff run in 2024? Tomball is very young on offense, but they may have the best pair of backs in the Houston area in Ian Thomas and Trevon Johnson. Can the other questions on offense get answered? Klein Cain returns 14 starters from a team that missed the playoffs a year ago. The Hurricanes will be in the mix along with Magnolia who still has QB Chase Lowrey leading the charge. But the Bulldogs defense was hammered by graduation.

District 16-6A

1. Cy Falls (7)
2. Cy-Fair (3)
3. Houston Langham Creek (6)
4. Cy Lakes (4)
5. Cy Woods (1)
6. Jersey Village (2)
7. Cy Creek (5)
8. Cy Ridge (8)

Lots of change in Cy-Fair ISD as several of these teams have spent the last few alignments paired in Region III. Now many have moved over to District 16 where there could be some road trips inside of the region if they make a playoff run. Cy Falls is loaded with speed and experience after posting a 9-4 record while playing a sophomore heavy lineup. The Golden Eagles are ready to soar and could be a regional contender in 2026. Cy-Fair has a strong group of seniors, a veteran QB and two FBS caliber WR’s on the outside, so the Bobcats could be quite explosive on offense and the defense should be improved with seven starters returning. Things get murky after that, but I really like Langham Creek for that three-seed. The Lobos were 6-4 a year ago and return a stout defense that has eight returning starters. If the offense can mature, they’ll be in the mix. Cy Lakes not only made the playoffs for the first time in school history last year, but they hung around and advanced to the area playoffs. Tyrone Carter’s squad was hammered by graduation. We’ll give the benefit of the doubt over Cy Woods because the Wildcats were also hit hard with 44 seniors departing.

PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS AND PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

DIVISION I

W9 Wylie East vs R10 Royse City

W11 Waxahachie vs R12 Temple

W13 The Woodlands vs R14 Aldine Nimitz

W15 Klein vs R16 Cy Lakes

W10 Rockwall-Heath vs R9 Sachse

W12 Waco Midway vs R11 Duncanville

W14 Aldine Davis vs R13 Conroe Grand Oaks

W16 Cy-Fair vs R15 Klein Oak

We could be on a real crash course for an 11-6A rematch in the regional finals much like last year as Duncanville and Waxahachie look the part as top dawgs. Klein at the top of the bracket and maybe Cy-Fair at the bottom of the bracket look best equipped to contend with the DFW monsters, but they’ll enter a possible regional final as multiple touchdown underdogs.

REGIONAL CHAMPION

Waxahachie over Duncanville

DIVISION II

W9 Rowlett vs R10 North Forney

W11 North Crowley vs R12 Copperas Cove

W13 The Woodlands College Park vs R14 Aldine Eisenhower

W15 Klein Collins vs R16 Houston Langham Creek

W10 Longview vs R9 Garland Lakeview Centennial

W12 Killeen Harker Heights vs R11 Mansfield Lake Ridge

W14 Spring Westfield vs R13 Willis

W16 Cy Falls vs R15 Tomball

Because of their district alignment, North Crowley gets shifted into Division II, which is odd to see a team in Fort Worth going to Region II in 6A. The Panthers will have a tough road with that third round game likely against an explosive College Park squad that went three deep a year ago. The bottom of the bracket is anyone’s guess. Area round games with Longview vs. Harker Heights and Willis vs. Cy Falls are extremely interesting matchups.

REGIONAL CHAMPION

Division II

North Crowley over Longview