Texas high school football season is already underway, with workouts kicking off across the state signaling the beginning of the most wonderful time of year. More than 1,500 Texas high school football teams will take the field with the same goal: to become state champions.

Of course, Texas is big — really big — and any true Texan can tell you that different regions of the state can feel like different countries. Don't believe us? Try introducing someone from Beaumont to someone from Amarillo.

To keep things organized, Dave Campbell's Texas Football divides the state into 21 geographic regions. They're not perfect (it's hard to draw hard-and-fast borders of nebulous regions without some people feeling like their team is miscategorized) and they're of varying sizes (DFW has more than 10 times the number of schools as the Brazos Valley), but it's useful for breaking up the state into more bite-sized chunks.

It also gives us the opportunity to argue! Here is my pick for the best Texas high school football team in each of the 21 DCTF regions (plus some honorable mentions).

Best in Austin — Austin Westlake
The Chaps start the year No. 4 in the DCTF Class 6A rankings and there's reason to believe this will be a vintage Westlake team, especially with a rock-solid QB1 in Rees Wise.
Apologies to...Columbus, Lake Travis, Wimberley, Liberty Hill, Lexington

Best in the Big Country — Stephenville
Class 4A Division I feels wide open this year, but the Yellow Jackets are DCTF's pick to bring home the crown thanks to a veteran QB (Ryan Gafford), a bruising front seven (led by DT Kolton Dearth) and nearly unmatched pedigree.
Apologies to...Albany, Westbrook, Jayton, Abilene, Brownwood

Best in the Brazos Valley — Franklin
The Lions have been in four consecutive 3A state championship games, winning two of them and losing the other two by a combined eight points. They're the clear class of greater Aggieland.
Apologies to...College Station, Bremond, A&M Consolidated, Madisonville, Centerville

Best in the Coastal Bend — Ganado
DCTF ruffled some feathers across 2A Division I when we named the Indians our No. 1 team in the state, but it's hard to argue that last year's state semifinalist with 18 starters back isn't the team to beat both in their classification and on the coast as a whole.
Apologies to...Refugio, Edna, Goliad, Tidehaven, Corpus Christi Flour Bluff

Best in the Concho Valley — Wall
The Hawks are absolutely fascinating this year, with a new coach and new offensive scheme, but the tradition and blue-collar attitude of the program makes them the best in the greater San Angelo area.
Apologies to...Mason, Rochelle, Junction, Sonora, Irion County

Best in Dallas-Fort Worth — DeSoto
The largest region in the state also houses the best team in Texas — DeSoto is the two-time defending 6A Division II state champions and finished 2023 as the finest pound-for-pound team in the state. They're loaded for bear again.
Apologies to...Aledo, Duncanville, South Oak Cliff, Denton Ryan, North Crowley

Best in East Texas — Malakoff
One of the deepest (and football-craziest) regions in the state has plenty of options, but the boys from Cedar Creek Lake — and reigning 3A Division I state champions, plus our pick to go back-to-back behind QB Mike Jones — gets the nod as the best in Beast Texas.
Apologies to...Carthage, Tyler Chapel Hill, Daingerfield, Gilmer, Texas High

Best in El Paso — El Paso Del Valle
Way out in the Sun City, I'm going with the Conquistadores, which welcome back 18 starters from last year's district championship squad, and QB Jake Fette and RB Shelton Fuller look poised to take their attack to the next level.
Apologies to...Canutillo, El Paso Chapin, El Paso Eastwood, El Paso Riverside, El Paso Austin

Best in the Golden Triangle — Port Neches-Groves
The No. 1 team in 5A Division II and reigning state champions are the best of deep Southeast Texas, and with plenty of pieces back, there's no reason to doubt that coach Jeff Joseph's Indians can go back-to-back.
Apologies to...Newton, Port Arthur Memorial, Hamshire-Fannett, Woodville, Silsbee

Best in the Hill Country — Jourdanton
One of the more nebulous regions of the state, it's hard to draw firm lines around this part of Central Texas, but it's not hard to see why the Indians — with a one-two receiving punch of Rustin Schuchart and Isiah Lambert — top the list here.
Apologies to...Blanco, Boerne, Boerne Champion, Hondo, Bandera

Best in Houston — Galena Park North Shore
The Mustangs have appeared in five of the last six state championship games, winning three of them, and bring back quarterback Kaleb Bailey as a four-year starter. They're the class of H-Town, no doubt.
Apologies to...Humble Summer Creek, Bellville, Humble Atascocita, Hitchcock, Katy

Best in the Panhandle — Stratford
The Elks were a state semifinalist in 2A Division I last year, and now they drop down to Division II with 16 starters — including two-way stud Bryce Braden — back from last season? Yeah, they're dangerous.
Apologies to...Canadian, Bushland, Sunray, Wellington, Canyon West Plains

Best in the Permian Basin — Klondike
Surprised? You shouldn't be — hometown hero Dalton DeGraffenreid leads his Cougars back for more after a run to the state semifinal last year, and with Truett Thixton as one of seven starters back, 2023 may have been just the beginning.
Apologies to...Wink, Buena Vista, Seminole, Rankin, Midland Legacy

Best in the Piney Woods — Timpson
Yes, the Bears lost a generational talent in 2022 Mr. Texas Football and current Texas A&M Aggie Terry Bussey, but they're still the champs, and they've still got JJ Garner, and they're still the best behind the pine curtain.
Apologies to...Garrison, Beckville, Huntsville, Lufkin, West Rusk

Best in the Rio Grande Valley — Edinburg Vela
It's hard to pick a best team in the RGV this year because there's a back of squads that feel tightly packed, but the Sabercats get the preseason nod thanks to what could be a breakout defense in coach Ernie Alonzo's first season.
Apologies to..PSJA North, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, San Benito, La Villa, McAllen Memorial

Best in San Antonio — Alamo Heights
Is this the year for an Alamo City breakthrough? If so, it might come from the Mules, who were on the doorstep last year and feature one of the state's most dynamic talents in Michael Terry III.
Apologies to...Shiner, Smithson Valley, Cibolo Steele, Poth, San Anotnio Pieper

Best on the South Plains — Whiteface
In what feels like a retrenching year in greater Lubbock, the Antelopes down in Class 1A Division I look most poised to break through, especially if hard-charging running back Ethan Kauffman is as advertised.
Apologies to...Happy, Abernathy, Whitharral, Shallowater, Idalou

Best in South Texas — Brackettville
It could be a resurgent season along the border (we call South Texas basically from Del Rio down to Laredo), and it's the Tigers of Brackettville that could make the most noise if they can reload from graduation losses in a hurry.
Apologies to...San Diego, Laredo United, Laredo Alexander, Dilley, Cotulla

Best in the Super Centex — Gordon
Lots of quality in this wide-ranging region encompassing greater-greater-greater Waco, and it's the six-man team to beat — the reigning 1A Division I state champs, and the No. 1 team to start this season — in the Gordon Longhorns that should pace the group.
Apologies to...Oglesby, Mart, Richland Springs, Waco La Vega, Abbott

Best in Texoma — Gunter
Up along the Red River, it's got to be the back-to-back 3A Division II state champs who are the clear and almost prohibitive favorites to make it three in a row, as Jake Fieszel has built one of Texas' most consistent powers.
Apologies to..Honey Grove, Muenster, Pottsboro, Lindsay, Tioga

Best in Wichita Falls — Benjamin
It was already going to be interesting in Wichita Falls with the consolidation of three high schools (Old High, Rider and Hirschi) into two new ones (Legacy and Memorial), and it got even more interesting when the two-time defending 1A DII champion Benjamin lost their all-everything star Grayson Rigdon to transfer, but the Mustangs still get the narrow nod here.
Apologies to...Windthorst, Graham, Holliday, Knox City, Seymour