Now with the Lake Travis Cavaliers making the move up into the Class 5A ranks, the door has been swung wide open for a solid team to make their own headlines and build their own legacy. One team that has had the ultimate hurdle getting past the Cavaliers in the last five years has been the Cedar Park Timberwolves. Now Cedar Park is the team that has the bullseye placed squarely on them. But the Wolves should not feel too comfortable within their region, yet alone their own district. District 25-4A now has a very dangerous Leander Lions squad that has dropped into the 4A ranks. Also in the district is a vastly improving Austin Vandegrift team that is looking to stun many on a regional and statewide level.
While 25-4A takes up approximately a third of the Texas HS Football Class 4A Region IV Pre-Season Rankings, there are a few teams that should have plenty to say about the region outside of 25-4A. Teams within the always challenging 27-4A with Alamo Heights, Kerrville Tivy, Hays Consolidated and Boerne Champion should factor into the picture. Traditional Coastal Bend powers Calallen and Gregory-Portland will also make things seem very intriguing too.
As the center of attention for the region has focused on the departure of Lake Travis, there has also been a pair of major coaching changs that could impact things within the next year or so. Marble Falls brought in a coach with a very respectable and impressive resume and Kerrvlle Tivy went to the Houston area and gobbled up one of the best coaches out of the Cypress Fairbanks school district.
For the Marble Falls Mustangs, the hiring of Todd Dodge, should be a hire that helps put them back on the map. Dodge is known as the coach that has fueled the powerhouse Southlake Carroll football program at the 5A level before moving on to coaching stints at the college level at both North Texas, where he was a head coach, and at Pittsburgh, where he served as the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. Kerrville Tivy saw Mark Smith take the job at Coverse Judson, where he takes over for the now /retired Jim Rackley. Bringing in David Jones, who was the first and only coach in the history of a successful Cypress Woods program, takes over the job as Antlers head coach.
There are the favorites of the region with Cedar Park, Leander, Calallen and Kerrville Tivy. Then there are the darkhorses in the region that could be good enough to bring in a surprise or two at the statewide level. Some of those teams include SA Brennan, Austin Johnson and Dripping Springs. For the Brennan Bears, who are considered as the favorites for the 28-4A title, an experienced defense should give them a leg up in their regional chances. Providing they get a solid draw and a get past the first round against a 27-4A team, the Bears could be a team that has a chance to not only bring deep run, but garner some better respect for the San Antonio/South Texas 4A region as a whole.
The Jaguars of Austin Johnson have one of the most experienced teams in the entire region and the state. But the question facing Johnson is much like that of Brennan. Can they get past a guantlet-filled potential first round match up against one of the region's most powerful teams. And much like Brennan, if they do, the sky is the limit to what tpe of damage the Jaguars will do. The Dripping Springs Tigers, unlike Brennan and Johnson, will face some of that top notch regional conpetition within their own district on a week-in, week out basis. And if they do make the playoffs, the Tigers are guaranteed to get a Division II route. Division II within Region IV, is considered to be much more significantly weaker than its Division I bracket. A potential deep round run for the Tigers is very likely, if they do qualify for the big dance. |
1 |
Cedar Park |
2 |
Leander |
3 |
CC Calallen |
4 |
Kerrville Tivy |
5 |
SA Brennan |
6 |
SA Alamo Heights |
7 |
Austin Johnson |
8 |
Austin Vandegrift |
9 |
Gregory-Portland |
10 |
Dripping Springs |
11 |
Hays Consolidated |
12 |
Edcouch-Elsa |
13 |
CC Flour Bluff |
14 |
Leander Rouse |
15 |
Austin Travis |
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