NEW LEAGUES FOR AREA TEAMS East Wilco schools get new athletic districts, regions
Expecting the unexpected is something coaches and administrators across Texas come to expect every other February.
There were plenty of curveballs thrown at schools across Texas Monday morning when the University Interscholastic League released its biennial realignment and reclassification. Among those proverbial curveballs were Taylor and Hutto.
The Ducks remained in District 13-4A-Division I in football alongside the Austin Independent School District trio of LBJ, Northeast and Travis. But with Austin Achieve, Austin Eastside and Manor New Tech moving down to 4A-Division II, four different schools were added to the mix – Fischer Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg, Kerrville Tivy and San Antonio Davenport.
“We faced some of these teams recently, so we know what to expect and we match up well with all the teams, so we are excited about it and will be ready to go for the fall,” Taylor football head coach and athletic coordinator Earven Flowers said. “You see how far the travel is — that’s not fun for a Thursday night JV game — but those are the cards we have been dealt, and we will find a way to deal with it.”
While Taylor High School’s enrollment does not exceed the Division I cutoff, the Ducks were required to use enrollment numbers from Legacy High School, which total 117 students and pushed them over the threshold.
Taylor has a different alignment for basketball and volleyball, however. The Ducks are in District 26-4A with Achieve, New Tech and the Austin ISD quartet of Eastside, LBJ, Northeast and Travis.
By moving to 26-4A, Taylor also will be in Region IV instead of Region III. The Ducks are currently in 24-4A/Region III with Burnet, Georgetown Gateway, Jarrell, Lampasas, Marble Falls and Salado.
Fittingly, Burnet, Gateway, Jarrell, Lampasas and Marble Falls will stick together as they form the new 25-4A alongside Lago Vista. Salado will stay in 24-4A with schools from the Waco area.
“I was glad to see that happen. That is actually the district we were looking to be in at the last realignment,” Taylor basketball head coach Stephen Gibson said. “It’s a lot more suitable for us numberswise. We are all in similar situations where we have to share players from the football field, whereas in the district we are in now, they have guys who only play basketball.”
Hutto probably received the biggest curveball out of the East Williamson County schools. The Hippos are in District 24-6A with Georgetown East View and five Leander ISD schools – Cedar Park, Leander, Rouse, Vandegrift and Vista Ridge.
Aside from Hutto, Vandegrift and Vista Ridge, the other four schools in the new district are moving up from 5A. Hutto, Vandegrift and Vista Ridge are currently in 25-6A with Manor, who is moving down to 5A, and the Round Rock ISD five – Cedar Ridge, McNeil, Round Rock, Stony Point and Westwood.
The Round Rock ISD schools will remain in 25-6A, but will gain powerhouse programs Lake Travis and Westlake. Hutto’s district is the only Austin area 6A district that will be in Region III – a region which was an all-Greater Houston region for the better part of the last 40 years.
For Thrall, things are pretty much the same for basketball and volleyball. The Tigers and Tigerettes will remain in 19-3A alongside current members Cameron Yoe, Franklin, Lexington, Little River Academy, Rockdale and Rogers.
The only change to Thrall’s district in those sports is the addition of 4A refugee Caldwell. The Hornets’ addition will make 19-3A a league of eight instead of seven.
In football, the Tigers remain in 13-3A-DII with Lexington and Rogers. The biggest changes are Anderson-Shiro, Florence and Schulenburg will replace Blanco and Comfort, who moved to 15-3A-DII.
For Granger, the biggest change is in football. The Lions moved up to Division I and are in 13-2A-DI with Bruceville-Eddy, Hearne, Marlin, Moody, Rosebud-Lott and Thorndale.
The basketball district stayed the same minus Rosebud-Lott, who was moved into another district. Granger will still compete against traditional rivals Bartlett, Holland, McDade, Milano and Thorndale in 27-2A.
The Lady Lions’ volleyball district remains 26-2A, albeit without Milano, who is now in 25-2A. Granger’s five-team loop also includes Bartlett, Holland, McDade and Thorndale.
