The Region III champion for the past two years has moved over to Region II and into Port Neches-Groves’ spot is Liberty Hill who has four consecutive Region IV titles. Can the Panthers Slot-T navigate a region that’s got some very good teams that are flying under the radar? The make-up of Region III is unique with just one Houston area district, one Central Texas district, an Austin based district and a San Antonio based district.
9-5A Division II is a top heavy district with three teams at the top who can all make a strong case that they could win the Region III crown. Randle, in just their second varsity season posted an impressive 11-2 mark they’ve got a two-headed monster in the backfield and a talented young QB. How do the Lions rebuild a defense that did take some hits with graduation? Iowa Colony was 12-1 a year ago without seniors, the Pioneers bring every player back but they are moving up to 5A, so that’s a big question. Fort Bend Marshall has underachieved the past three years (first round loss two of the last three seasons), but the Buffs bring back a boatload of experience. Texas City appears to be the best of the rest as they’ll try to snag the final playoff spot.
All six teams in 10-5A Division II have a legitimate case for a playoff spot as this district seems to have three distinct tiers. The top three spots looks to be a battle between Belton, Waco University and Brenham, University probably has the most upside, but will the Trojans be consistent enough to bring home that elusive district title? They’ve been close to Belton the past two years but haven’t gotten over the hump. The race for the four spot will be totally intriguing as Waco, Rudder and Ellison all have similar profiles on paper.
Liberty Hill is the runaway favorite to win 11-5A Division II as the Panthers barely stayed Division II, the new high school will start to eat into the talent pool after this year so it’s a make or break year for LHHS. Bastrop, who just missed out on the playoffs a year brings back ten starters on both sides of the ball from a 5-5 team in 2023, they could be among the state’s most improved teams. Pflugerville was a surprise playoff team a year ago and should be a good bet for the three seed, while the race for the last spot is a three-team race between McCallum, Elgin and Connally.
One thing we know about 12-5A Division II and San Antonio ISD football, get your tiebreakers ready because there’s not a doubt in my mind we’ll have a three or even four-way tie at some point as the playoffs get close. It’s happened the last three years! Burbank on paper has the pieces in place to bring home a district title, but keep an eye on Sam Houston who could be a sleeper in this district. Jefferson, Lanier and Highlands will be the top contenders for the final two playoff spots.
DISTRICT PREDICTIONS
District 9-5A Division II
- Richmond Randle
- Iowa Colony
- Fort Bend Marshall
- Texas City
- Baytown Lee
- Rosenberg Terry
- Santa Fe
- Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated
District 10-5A Division II
- Belton
- Waco University
- Brenham
- Waco
- Killeen Ellison
- Bryan Rudder
District 11-5A Division II
- Liberty Hill
- Bastrop
- Pflugerville
- Austin McCallum
- Elgin
- Pflugerville Connally
- Austin Crockett
- Austin Navarro
District 12-5A Division II
- San Antonio Burbank
- San Antonio Sam Houston
- San Antonio Jefferson
- San Antonio Lanier
- San Antonio Highlands
- San Antonio Brackenridge
- San Antonio Edison
PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS
W9 Richmond Randle vs F10 Waco
R12 San Antonio Sam Houston vs T11 Pflugerville
W10 Belton vs F9 Texas City
R11 Bastrop vs T12 San Antonio Jefferson
W11 Liberty Hill vs F12 San Antonio Lanier
R10 Waco University vs T9 Fort Bend Marshall
W12 San Antonio Burbank vs F11 Austin McCallum
R9 Iowa Colony vs T10 Brenham
REGIONAL CHAMPION
Richmond Randle over Liberty Hill
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