When realignment was revealed in February, the attention turned to East Texas and how the "District of Doom" schools would be aligned once again. For the most part, the Region II East Texas district maintained its power district status losing Carthage to Region III and picking up Kilgore, which drops from 4A to 3A after reaching the state quarterfinals in 2011. While the East Texas District of Doom gets the majority of the spotlight, teams like Argyle and Celina remain right in the middle of the region's power surge. To add onto the already loaded 3A Region II, the 2011 Class 2A Division I Champion Melissa Cardinals make the move up to Class 3A.
Class 3A Region II has also seen an attraction come from media at the local, regional and national level with the addition of Deion Sanders' new charter school Prime Prep Academy in 11-3A. Prime Prep's attendance zone as set by the Texas Education Agency, is the entire Dallas ISD attendance zone. Concerns over the possible athletic related tranfers and recruiting has already set off a major alarm across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Sanders himself is one of three co-head coaches on the team and has also been plannning to further exploit the school with a reality television show.
When looking at the schedule and finding the interest level at a high, Prime Prep's first game will be on the road against Parish Episcopal in Week Zero. Another intriguing Week Zero game involving regional teams will be Celina and Melissa squaring off at the new Allen ISD Stadium at high noon on Saturday. Two weeks later, region favorite Argyle get a big test with a road trip to a very dangerous Paris team that is expecting to also wreck havoc in the region. The Paris Wildcats are not the only test for Argyle. The Eagles will also face Abilene Wylie, Kennedale and Dallas Madison before getting into district play. As for the District of Doom in East Texas, it is safe to say that almost every game on the district slate could wind up as a must watch. The two with the possible biggest impact on that district race includes Tyler Chapel Hill at Gilmer in Week 5 and Henderson at Kilgore in Week 9.
Finding a high profile player and a potential breakout star in 3A Region II is very easy to do. On the offensive side of the ball, there are the big high profile players such as Celina's Jake Raulerson on the offensive line and Atlanta's star rusher Corrion Webster. Then there is the national record setting junior kicker Cole Hedlund returning at Argyle, who set the national record for field goals made in a season as a sophomore in 2011. The big rising offensive stars could come from Celina, Tyler Chapel Hill and Princeton and two of them are calling the signals in the offense. Tyler Chapel Hill's Andrew Black, transferring in from Jacksonville, attributed over 2,300 all-purpose yards as a sophomore for the Indians. Celina's signal caller is sophomore Nathan Elliott, who tossed 30 touchdowns and over 2,100 yards of air. Elliott is already six foot-two going and has plenty of growing left to do over the next three seasons. If Princeton is able to unseat Melissa in 12-3A, junior wide receiver Jakari Dillard, who is committed to Texas Tech, will be a very big reason.
Over on defense, Gilmer and Paris are looking to bolster their regional and state chances with a good number of high impact prospects looking to wreck havoc on opposing offenses. On Gilmer's side of the things, the Buckeyes will feature Xavier Fluellen at defensive tackle, Josh Walker at linebacker and junior Tanner Barr at defensive back. For Paris, Barry Bowman's Wildcats might have the most promising DE-LB combo packages in the state. Linebacker Jamal Black and DE Sed Ellis will be joined by DE Corwin Cary and LB Bricky Reed. Looking elsewhere in the region, big seasons are expected from Crandall DT Garrett York and Kilgore's A.J. Davis. |
1 |
Argyle |
2 |
Kilgore |
3 |
Celina |
4 |
Henderson |
5 |
Gilmer |
6 |
Paris |
7 |
Tyler Chapel Hill |
8 |
Van |
9 |
Melissa |
10 |
Atlanta |
11 |
Bullard |
12 |
Dallas Madison |
13 |
Wills Point |
14 |
Decatur |
15 |
Princeton |
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