Photo by Brian McLean
By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
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It is that time once again. Every two years, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) realigns schools into new classifications and districts for the next two school years in athletics. At 9 a.m. Monday, February 2nd, the football districts will be revealed for all six classifications, with 5A-1A being split into two divisions each.
While this affects the entire state, the western metroplex land of Parker County will be rocked hard no matter what happens. Each UIL team in the county of peaches has a story line to follow, and the road to AT&T Stadium will be laid out for all eight of them.
WEATHERFORD: For the past two alignments, the Kangaroos have been in a western metroplex district amongst Boswell, Crowley, North Crowley. The difference in the past two districts was whether it followed the south I-20 corridor, or the north I-820 corridor. The last two years, Weatherford and the other three schools have been paired with three Mansfield ISD schools, and before that they were placed in the north with Haltom, Euless Trinity, and LD Bell. Now, the Roos will likely rejoin Hood County’s Granbury Pirates in a district, and for the first time ever will be in a district with their Parker County rival Aledo Bearcats.
So now, Parker and Hood Counties seem to be the ones completing the district. But will that in fact be the case? It has happened in the past where Weatherford was in a district with Abilene and San Angelo Central. Now, Abilene is in 5A, but San Angelo Central is on its own island. Will the UIL send the Roos west with their old foe and join the schools from Midland and Odessa? Or will the old Westoplex district hold strong?
ALEDO: For the first time ever, the Bearcats will compete in the state’s largest classification. They are not afraid of the competition, but what happens on Monday will greatly influence their inaugural season in 6A. One thing is almost certain, Aledo will end up in a district with Granbury and Weatherford. Due to proximity, it is highly doubted that those three schools will be separated in district play, with the Bearcats being the new kids on the block as both the Kangaroos and Pirates have spent time in the largest classification in the last 20 years.
However the big question is the same for Weatherford. Will Aledo be sent to West Texas given the small number of teams out west? Or will the UIL throw the new kids on the block a bone and keep them close to home in district play? Assuming they stay in the metroplex, expect the Bearcats to rejoin old rivals of Boswell, Crowley and North Crowley in a district. However there is a very real possibility Aledo is sent to the oil fields.
AZLE: With a new head coach, and now that Aledo is out of 5A, the question for the Hornets is who their biggest competition is. It is very likely that the competition hardly changes, and Denton Ryan will still be around, as well as Birdville and Richland.
The biggest difference is that the departure of Aledo and Granbury could possibly open the door to teams like Saginaw and Chisholm Trail to enter the district. Those teams are very winnable competition for Azle. The Hornets are in a rare state where their realignment could be very uneventful. But at the same time, they may have the biggest question mark. Will Aledo and Granbury gone, suddenly the old district is up in the air. It could be possible that Azle ends up in Fort Worth ISD alongside rival Brewer, taking the places of Saginaw and Chisholm Trail. That is precisely what happened to Springtown last realignment. This is arguably the most unpredictable team in Parker County come Monday morning.
SPRINGTOWN: Head coach Brian Hulett was less than thrilled two years ago when the Porcupines were placed in a district with five Fort Worth ISD schools. It very much hindered Springtown’s strength of schedule, and arguably halted what could have been two deep playoff runs due to not being as battle tested as the teams they faced in the postseason. Given the results of the last two seasons, it is doubtful the UIL puts Springtown and arch-rival Decatur in that same district. Odds are, they will look to maximize competitiveness. This is very similar to what happened to Aledo a decade ago.
The problem here is that the two other alternatives are either difficult on travel, or difficult on competition. The Porcupines could very well go south with state champion Stephenville along with Alvarado and Godley. That scenario would likely include Lampasas and China Spring, meaning a ton of travel. The other option, and most likely in my opinion, sees Springtown heading north with Decatur to face teams like Lake Dallas and Aubrey, a team up from 4A-DII. Being at the northern tip of the county, do not be shocked if the Porcupines are sent to North Texas.
BROCK: After two years of being regional champions in 4A, it is no doubt that the Brock Eagles in fact do belong in this classification. The unfortunate side is that they have always run into the Carthage Bulldogs. But by Monday morning, that all could change. There is a surprising amount of metroplex teams in 4A Division II going into this realignment. What this means is that Brock will ride the line of Region 1 and Region 2. If Brock goes Region 2, it may just push Carthage to Region 3, meaning the two would only meet in a State Championship.
The way this could happen is if the Eagles are in fact moved into a metroplex district with Bridgeport, Lake Worth and possibly Glen Rose to create District 5. At that point, Carthage would likely be pushed to Region 3. The other side of the coin keeps Brock in place with Graham and lumps the aforementioned teams in one big district west of the metroplex. This is the most likely scenario, which would keep the Eagles in Region 1. More than likely, the second scenario will come to fruition, but the UIL likes to throw curveballs here and there. So it is worth contemplating at the very least.
PEASTER: The Greyhounds have a couple of possibilities that could play out in realignment. Unless something drastic happens, Peaster is undoubtedly Region 1. The big question, like others in the county, is which direction they will go. The departure of Iowa Park has the current district in a bit of a limbo situation.
If the Hounds remain with their current opponents, it is likely they could see Pilot Point and Whitesboro return as district foes. However, to avoid building too big a district, it is also very possible that the UIL sends Peaster out west to join former playoff foes Sweetwater, Jim Ned, Clyde and Early. It actually would not be to prevent the former district from being smaller, but to make sure the latter district is big enough. Without Peaster, the west district (most likely district 3) would only have four teams. With that in mind, I predict the Hounds are headed west.
MILLSAP: The Bulldogs are in a very similar situation to Azle and Peaster. This realignment could ultimately mean very little because there is a good chance that nothing changes in their district. Literally, Millsap could end up with the exact same district it was tied with two years ago.
However there is another possibility that needs to be considered. As it stands right now, Millsap is the southernmost school in its current district. There is another possible district that lies not too far to the south that could see the Bulldogs appear. With 2A state champion Hamilton moving up, a district is likely between schools southwest of the greater DFW metroplex, including Tolar, Rio Vista and Dublin, teams that Millsap has history with. The biggest question for the Bulldogs is North vs. South. Neither outcome would be shocking, and it would keep them in the same region regardless. The worst thing is that it affects their non-district schedule.
PERRIN-WHITT: This one is the hardest for me to predict. The Pirates are on an island (no pun intended.) The closest school to Perrin-Whitt is Bryson, who will also be 1A Division 1. Newcastle is next along with Gordon to the south. The tricky thing is that six-man football works differently from other classifications in that it is split between east/west. More often than not, the Pirates end up in the east. But given their proximity to other schools that could fall in the west, it could go either way.
I cannot accurately predict their opponents, but what I can say is that they will be a very eastern Region 2 team, or a very western Region 3 team. I look to have Bryson and Newcastle remain district opponents. From there, the district could go north to Saint Jo, or south to Gordon and Lingleville. Regardless, expect some stiff competition for the Pirates in the upcoming years.
