| Realignment Observations & Notes: Class 5A |
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By Christopher Lyke
Texas HS Football Chief Editor
The UIL Realignment as always has its high anticipation of grins, gripes, cheers and jeers. This year's realignment was no exception to the rule. With that said, let's take a class by class and region by region look at what went right and what went wrong. Plus, let's see who came out a winner and who came out a loser in each of the classes and regions. This article covers what we observe in Class 5A.
The Class 5A Realignment can be found here.
CLASS 5A
Region I
Move Ups: Keller Fossil Ridge, McKinney North
What went right: Geographically speaking, most of the alignment is actually very logical and makes perfect sense. Arlington ISD and Mansfield ISD are together and again. El Paso has it's usual logjam but after Arlington/Mansfield and El Paso, the entire region one alignment has its consquences with a domino effect spilling into region four. The decision for 2-5A not to go into zone play maybe as a direct result of District 1-5A having nine teams and 3-5A having eight. Instead of searching for four extra non-district games, the scheduling headaches for 2-5A are washed away by not going to zone play.
What went wrong: The number of seven team districts and the six team 6-5A district could have ben aliigned in such a way to allow for South Texas to gain a much needed district. Dallas Jesuit and Wylie could easily be placed in other districts without a problem. Wylie could fit nicely in with Garland ISD. The result of Wylie's 8-5A assignment and Dallas Jesuit's placement to Dallas ISD, Richardson and/or Carrollton would have opened the door a little more for an extra South Texas district.
Winners: Arlington ISD, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Abilene
Losers: Travelers of West Texas 2-5A, Wylie, McKinney North
Region II
Move Ups: New Caney, Copperas Cove, Vista Ridge
Elevated: Dallas Molina
What went right: Focusing on the positives of the region, Mesquite and the two Tyler schools are a perfect fit geographically considering their isolation and size. Other traditional districts were also kept together. Thats about where the things that went right came to a screeching halt.
What went wrong: Learning from what happened in region one, there would be no way to avoid an early round geographic split in some way. In this case, districts 13, 14 and 15 are east and south of 12 and 16. With the extra DFW and Houston districts lodged into region two, the ripple effects down south creates a major problem. In this case, sending what is now district 25-5A into region two, would relieve some of the headaches and give geographic balanced. Just miles away from Duncanville and Cedar Hill, DeSoto gets the ultimate DFW Gas Gauge award with its move into the East Texas district.
Winners: Garland ISD
Losers: DeSoto, District 16-5A
Region III
Move Ups: Dickinson, Clear Springs
Elevated: FB Marshall, FB Willowridge
What went right: Aldine and Humble ISD is a great fit going up Highway 59, Houston ISD, Pasadena ISD and Fort Bend ISD all have enough schools to supply their own 5A districts. And then the solid Houston Bay Area district with move ups Clear Springs and Dickinson is secured in its proper place.
What went wrong: The strange alignment of two six team districts in Katy and the Golden Triangle sets up some mid-season cross-town non-district games while everyone else in the region enters at least into the second week of district play.
Winners: Beaumont West Brook, PA Memorial, Katy ISD, Aldine/Humble ISD
Losers: Fort Bend Willowridge, Fort Bend Marshall
Region IV
Move Ups: Pflugerville Connally, New Braunfels, South San Antonio
New Schools: SA Johnson, SA Brandeis, La Joya Palmview
Elevated: Eagle Pass, Eagle Pass Winn, Laredo Martin
What went right: Among the minimal things that are correct in 5A Region IV, the toughest district in the state in 26-5A remains in tact plus New Braunfels and SA Johnson and minus Judson ISD. The RGV also kept its three districts granted to them in the previous realignment.
What went wrong: Because the Austin district remains a fixture in Region IV and with the DFW and Houston choking up a pair of districts in Region II, Laredo, United Eagle Pass and Southwest ISDs all are caught in a major mess and three Laredo schools appealing a move from 5A to 4A. The reprecussions of the appeal being granted could send the rest of the state into a quandry or force 5A to have more than the maximum allowed teams plus zoning in 29-5A.
Winners: 26-5A, Rio Grande Valley
Losers: 29-5A including Laredo and United ISD |
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