REGIONAL OUTLOOK

Region IV has been absolutely dominated by the Austin area powerhouses in Westlake and Lake Travis, but with both likely heading to Division I, does that open the door for a team from San Antonio to surge in Division II?

Vandegrift after their run to the regional finals a year ago has the makings of a team that could make a deep push in Division II, but the big question is could the Vipers wind up in Division II? If Manor and Vista Ridge make the playoffs that will push VHS up to Division I. Round Rock and Round Rock Cedar Ridge both seem good bets for the playoffs, but this district will bear watching.

There is an outside chance that three-time defending state champion Austin Westlake moves into the Division II bracket out of 26-6A. But a lot needs to fall into place for that to happen, namely Del Valle has to make the playoffs. It’s probably a long-shot for that to happen as the Cardinals only return seven starters from a 2-8 team and they are picked sixth or seventh in most polls. Westlake and Lake Travis are head and shoulders above the field, with a pair of 5A move-ups Dripping Springs and Buda Johnson looking to hold off Austin Bowie for the final playoff spots.

The northern suburbs of San Antonio always seems to be a tough loop, and nothing is expected to change this year even though Judson had a shockingly bad 2021 campaign. The Rockets are revitalized under a new head coach and seven starters back on both side of the ball, but that may not be enough to put them past district favorite Steele. The battle for third could be really intriguing as New Braunfels will look to hold off rapidly rising San Marcos. The big key in this district is if San Marcos or Clemens beats out East Central for a playoff spot then that makes Steele a Division I team.

District 28-6A is primarily dominated by North East ISD, with three Northside ISD schools being thrown in for fun and those Northside schools (Brandeis and Clark) could easily be in the playoff mix as well. Defending district champion San Antonio Johnson was hit hard by graduation and an offseason coaching change, so that opens the door for San Antonio Reagan to be the district favorite. Brandeis is a solid bet behind Reagan, with a young Johnson team still in contention for third. The real battle is for forth with Clark, Roosevelt, Madison and Marshall all with a strong case to challenge for a playoff spot.

The “Northside Nine” in District 29-6A was incredibly balanced a year ago with the notable exception of Brennan, who dominated the district on their way to a 13-1 mark and a trip to the regional finals. The Bears are locked into the Division I bracket, but the race behind them will again be a ton of fun. Taft, who has three playoff wins the last two years, is a good bet for second place, while Harlan, Stevens, O’Connor, Warren, Holmes and even Jay are all capable of pushing into playoff contention. We give the edge to Harlan and Stevens for those two slots; Stevens was hit hard by injuries a year ago and could be primed for a big season.

Heading south to the Laredo area in District 30-6A where Eagle Pass and 15 returning starters look to be the favorites to bring home the district title. Del Rio could be the team that makes a big leap forward as the Rams feel like they can challenge for the district title. Laredo United South and Laredo United should be solid bets to take home the last two playoff spots with Laredo Alexander and Laredo LBJ on the outside looking in.

The Rio Grande Valley in Class 6A is down to just a pair of six team districts. District 31-6A is the upper Valley district, where Edinburg Vela, who has dominated the district the past four years, has dropped down to Class 5A-Division I. That's left a major vacuum of power and opens the door for Edinburg North and Edinburg to fight it out for the district title. Very young Mission and PSJA squads both should have enough for the final two playoff spots.

Down in the Lower Valley, the premier rivalry game in the area, "The Battle of the Arroyo" should decide the 32-6A title as Harlingen and San Benito expect to be the top contenders for the crown. The final two playoff spots will be a three-team race with Weslaco, Los Frensos and Brownsville Hanna; they all looked evenly-matched across the board.

DISTRICT PREDICTIONS

District 25-6A

1. Austin Vandegrift
2. Round Rock
3. Round Rock Cedar Ridge
4. Manor
5. Cedar Park Vista Ridge
6. Round Rock Stony Point
7. Round Rock Westwood
8. Round Rock McNeil

District 26-6A

1. Austin Westlake
2. Lake Travis
3. Dripping Springs
4. Buda Johnson
5. Austin Bowie
6. Austin Anderson
7. Del Valle
8. Austin High
9. Austin Akins

District 27-6A

1. Cibolo Steele
2. Converse Judson
3. New Braunfels
4. San Marcos
5. Schertz Clemens
6. San Antonio East Central

District 28-6A

1. San Antonio Reagan
2. San Antonio Brandeis
3. San Antonio Johnson
4. San Antonio Clark
5. San Antonio Roosevelt
6. San Antonio Madison
7. San Antonio Marshall
8. San Antonio Churchill
9. San Antonio Lee

District 29-6A

1. San Antonio Brennan
2. San Antonio Taft
3. San Antonio Harlan
4. San Antonio Stevens
5. San Antonio O’Connor
6. San Antonio Warren
7. San Antonio Holmes
8. San Antonio Jay
9. San Antonio Sotomayor

District 30-6A

1. Eagle Pass
2. Del Rio
3. Laredo United South
4. Laredo United
5. Laredo Alexander
6. Laredo LBJ

District 31-6A

1. Edinburg North
2. Edinburg
3. Mission
4. PSJA
5. LaJoya
6. Edinburg Economedes

District 32-6A

1. Harlingen
2. San Benito
3. Weslaco
4. Los Fresnos
5. Brownsville Hanna
6. Brownsville Rivera

PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS

Division I

W25 Round Rock vs R26 Lake Travis

W27 Cibolo Steele vs R28 San Antonio Johnson

W29 San Antonio Brennan vs R30 Laredo United

W31 Edinburg North vs R32 Los Fresnos

W26 Austin Westlake vs R25 Round Rock Cedar Ridge

W28 San Antonio Reagan vs R27 New Braunfels

W30 Laredo United South vs R29 San Antonio Taft

W32 San Benito vs R31 Edinburg

Division II

W25 Austin Vandegrift vs R26 Buda Johnson

W27 Converse Judson vs R28 San Antonio Clark

W29 San Antonio Harlan vs R30 Del Rio

W31 Mission vs R32 Weslaco

W26 Dripping Springs vs R25 Manor

W28 San Antonio Brandeis vs R27 San Marcos

W30 Eagle Pass vs R29 San Antonio Stevens

W32 Harlingen vs R31 PSJA

REGIONAL CHAMPIONS

Division I

Austin Westlake over Lake Travis

Division II

Austin Vandegrift over San Antonio Brandeis