When realignment was released in February, the entire Texas HS Football world knew before hand the major story of the off-season and the upcoming season. That story was Stephenville dropping down from Class 4A to Class 3A. And given the possibility of a first round encounter, which in no way is guaranteed, the annual rivalry match up between Stephenville and Brownwood was called off for at least a two year period. The Yellow Jackets have had to scramble to find a solid slate of games and has just nine games for the 2012 season and the season starts with Mexican powerhouse Monterrey Tech in Week Zero.
Stephenville is not the only major storyline in 3A Region I. The Yellow Jackets will have some solid competition in the not to distant future. In district, the Alavarado Indians minus Wayne Onderdonck, will be gunning to stay on top 7-3A. Mineral Wells and Burkburnett are also Division I possibles along with Borger, Lubbock Cooper and Abilene Wylie. The big possibles for Division II include Kennedale, Lubbock Estacado, Liberty Hill, Monahans, Graham and Alvarado.
If there is a 3A Region I district that will be feeling cold by the time the second week of November rolls around, it could very well be 4-3A. Not only does the district have Monahans, Abilene Wylie and Snyder, it also has Midland Greenwood and Sweetwater. Both Greenwood and Sweetwater should factor into the playoff picture by the time the playoff race starts to take shape. If neither are in the thick of the picture, it will be a big surprise. The big "X Factor" for the district could be Greenwood's Kam Williams, who will be keeping opponent teams on their toes on both sides of the ball.
Looking for star quality players in 3A Region I has its own appeal. Stephenville's Tyler Jones and Brice Gunter are consoidered to be among the top 1-2 QB-WR punches in the state at any level. Brownwood will have its fair share with Matthew McCrane taking the snaps along side his kicking duties with Cooper Howie on the receiving end. The region's depth at tight end is also quite noticeable. Dalton Vondra at Kennedale and TCU commit Bryson Burtnett at Springtown are just two of those tight ends to keep an eye out for.
When looking at defense, Kennedale has everyone back from last season's 8-4 squad including Brett Wade and Fred Scott at linebacker and Zac Michener in the backfield. Monahans will be looking to bring the impact on the front side of the defense with
Tivo Armendariz at tackle and Jackson Scharf at linebacker. Liberty Hill will be looking to its defense once again to get them another deep run in the playoffs. Returning DB Jadon Boatright and LB Jacob Dudgeon will give the Panthers a big spark. |
1 |
Stephenville |
2 |
Alvarado |
3 |
Monahans |
4 |
Abilene Wylie |
5 |
Kennedale |
6 |
Lubbock Cooper |
7 |
Brownwood |
8 |
Lubbock Estacado |
9 |
Borger |
10 |
Graham |
11 |
Snyder |
12 |
Springtown |
13 |
Glen Rose |
14 |
Seminole |
15 |
Midland Greenwood |
|
