With four-time regional champion Liberty Hill moving over to Region III, the door has certainly opened up in South Texas for a new champion to emerge. Could Alamo Heights be the team that ascends to the top, or does Boerne up from 4A make a push after playing for a state title in 2022? Or does Division I drop down Corpus Christi Miller finally get over the hump?

There’s two San Antonio metro districts in 5A-Division II and they are split into two different regions, the inner city district moved to Region III, while the outer suburb heavy district remains in Region IV. Alamo Heights enters as the heavy favorite after back-to-back 12-1 seasons and the Mules have what most consider the region’s top player, but do they have enough firepower to push into a semifinal? Boerne’s been a power at the 4A level, but can the Greyhounds replicate that success moving up a classification? Tivy is a sleeper as the Antlers return a loaded offense and the battle for fourth should be intriguing with Veterans Memorial and Victoria West battling it out, both teams earned playoff wins a year ago, with West pushing to the regional semifinals.

We move to the Coastal Bend where 14-5A Division II is a Corpus Christi ISD heavy loop with perennial playoff team Gregory-Portland added in, we were all surprised at UIL realignment when the UIL did not include Victoria West in this district. Miller, a regional finalist in Division I a year ago is the heavy favorite to win the district crown, but Gregory-Portland expects to be more than up for the fight, especially if their young defense can mature. Carroll has made steady strides the past two seasons and looks ready for a break-through in 2024, while the fourth playoff spot will be a real battle between Ray and Moody.

There’s only five teams in 15-5A Division II and the odd team out looks to be Mission Sharyland who has hit a bit of a down-turn after spending a lot of time as one of the power programs in the RGV. The battle for the district crown looks to be a two-horse race between Mission Vets and Alice who moves up from Class 4A. Right now, the slight edge goes to Vets due to Alice’s inexperience on offense. Roma is a tough team to prep for with their offensive style, so expect the Gladiators to contend, while Sharyland Pioneer is the smart pick for the final playoff spot.

Old rivals Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes should battle it out for the 16-5A Division II crown, that rivalry with a district title on the line will be something to see. Pace and Lopez are on paper fairly evenly matched so the race for the last two spots will be close. If there’s a spoiler, I think PSJA Southwest could be in position to play spoiler if they can survive a tough non-district slate.

DISTRICT PREDICTIONS

District 13-5A Division II

1. Alamo Heights
2. Boerne
3. Kerrville Tivy
4. San Antonio Veterans Memorial
5. Victoria West
6. San Antonio Harlandale
7. San Antonio McCollum

District 14-5A Division II

1. Corpus Christi Miller
2. Gregory-Portland
3. Corpus Christi Carroll
4. Corpus Christi Ray
5. Corpus Christi Moody
6. Corpus Christi King

District 15-5A Division II

1. Mission Veterans Memorial
2. Alice
3. Roma
4. Mission Sharyland Pioneer
5. Mission Sharyland

District 16-5A Division II

1. Edcouch-Elsa
2. Mercedes
3. Brownsville Pace
4. Brownsville Lopez
5. PSJA Southwest
6. Brownsville Porter

PROJECTED BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS

W13 Alamo Heights vs F14 Corpus Christi Ray

R16 Mercedes vs T15 Roma

W14 Corpus Christi Miller vs F13 San Antonio Veterans Memorial

R15 Alice vs T16 Brownsville Pace

W15 Mission Veterans Memorial vs F16 Brownsville Lopez

R14 Gregory-Portland vs T13 Kerrville Tivy

W16 Edcouch-Elsa vs F15 Mission Sharyland Pioneer

R13 Boerne vs T14 Corpus Christi Carroll

REGIONAL CHAMPION

Corpus Christi Miller over Boerne