THRALL — The University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment on Monday provided Thrall High School with its roadmap for the next two seasons, introducing new faces to the Tigers’ football schedule while stabilizing the landscape for basketball and volleyball.
Under the new 2026-28 alignment, Thrall football will move into District 13-3A-Division II. The Tigers will remain grouped with current rivals Lexington and Rogers but will now face a new slate of opponents, including Anderson-Shiro, Florence and Schulenburg.
Thrall athletic director and head football coach Aaron Vanecek said the shift to a sixteam district offers a strategic advantage regarding the schedule’s mandatory bye week.
“Being in a six-team district, we all get to take the same bye,” Vanecek said. “So, we had drawn, the year before, in an odd-team district, and we drew the week 11 bye. So, you have to deal with that two years in a row, not getting the bye until the very last week.”
Vanecek noted the lack of a midseason break two years took a physical toll on the roster. The Tigers lost two key players to injury in the regularseason finale, which hampered the team during its first-round playoff loss to Tidehaven.
While football sees a shakeup, the basketball and volleyball programs will maintain more familiarity. They will remain in District 19-3A alongside Cameron, Franklin, Lexington, Academy, Rockdale and Rogers.
The lone addition to the district is Caldwell, which is dropping down from Class 4A. Vanecek said the move for Caldwell felt like a “natural step” and praised the logistics of the new district, particularly for younger athletes.
“The travel will be fantastic,” Vanecek said. “Our middle schools went to Shiro last year, that was an hour 50 on the bus... Florence is an easy drive with the toll road.”
Regarding the addition of Caldwell, Vanecek expects a strong atmosphere.
“Caldwell is a town that’s built new facilities. They’re moving in a trajectory,” he said. “Obviously, they’re dropping in enrollment, because they’re dropping to 3A, but it will be a fun environment to play in. So, that will be exciting.”
The realignment also allows Thrall to continue fostering its growing relationship with Rockdale. Though the two will not meet during the regular season on the gridiron, they are scheduled for a football scrimmage this year and remain district foes in other sports.
“You can feel a little different energy when you play Rockdale,” Vanecek said. “They’re becoming a team that we really enjoy playing in multiple sports... Hopefully that can build into maybe us playing full time down the road.”
The transition to Class 3A has forced Thrall to move away from historic rivalries against schools such as Thorndale, Holland and Granger. Vanecek noted it is an ongoing process to establish new “big games” as the Tigers seek to make their mark in a larger classification.
“That’s been the challenge in 3A — trying to create who’s going to be our rivalries? Who’s going to be games that we continue to build off of?” Vanecek said. “It’s exciting playing new teams, but also trying to figure out who are those teams that you play in certain sports that become big games for the community? That’s exciting to see that unfold.”
