Here are five district football races that could defy preseason expectations
Adjustments to the offense and defense have been made. Necessary player moves are done. Team strengths and weaknesses have been noted.
Now, there’s no turning back. For football programs coming off their bye week, the grind of the district season begins starting Thursday. This is the push to the playoffs.
Non-district records can be viewed either way. A team that went 3-0 against lesser competition will learn if it can match up with perennial powers. A tradition-rich program that experienced ups and downs understands the demands to return to the postseason.
District races always provide a bit of everything. For districts that rely on positive points or negative points or both, the addition and subtraction begins. Coaches must keep score.
Some districts already have their heavy favorites between champions and playoff participants. Aledo, Justin Northwest and Saginaw Boswell hold those labels in District 6-5A. Grapevine, Colleyville Heritage and Richland fit in 8-5A.
Still, the non-district season produced story lines that suggest that things may not be as they seem. If you want to scoreboard watch week to week, the following district races offer the best bets.
District 3-6A: Abilene’s 1-3 start really caught people by surprise, because the Eagles have not been stopping their opponents. The Eagles may not be the favorite as once was thought. Keller Fossil Ridge (4-0) has never stepped off the gas with its offense. Keller Timber Creek (4-0) seems to have a better defense. If these two are playing at the level that it appears they are, these likely will be the two to challenge Abilene for the championship. It starts Friday when the Falcons and Panthers meet at the Keller ISD Athletic Complex. The Panthers then turn around and play Abilene on Oct. 6 in Keller. Fossil Ridge will learn early if it has command of the race or if it’s looking up. Timber Creek finishes the season Nov. 10 at Abilene.
District 5-6A: Southlake Carroll is the favorite. However, the Dragons (2-1) are not the clear favorite, especially with their defense struggling. They have surrendered 88 points in the past two games. Euless Trinity (1-2) has an interesting opener Friday at Lewisville. The Trojans need to win that to feel good about themselves in their district championship race. However, the game of the year may not be Oct. 6 when the Dragons and Trojans meet at Pennington Field. It could be Oct. 20 when Flower Mound Marcus (2-1) visits Dragon Stadium. The Marauders return 14 starters this season. The dark horse could be Lewisville Hebron (2-1). The Hawks play both Trinity (Oct. 27) and Carroll (Nov. 10) at home.
District 7-6A: It may be a head scratcher to read the following: It wouldn’t be a surprise if Duncanville emerges as the district champion in a district that features defending state champion DeSoto. Yes, Reginald Samples’ 3-0 Panther team is that good. DeSoto (3-0) captures immediate attention; however, the Panthers went 11-3 and played in the 6A Division I Region I championship in 2016. They already turned it up in non-district averaging 45 points. Duncanville visits DeSoto on Oct. 27. Cedar Hill (1-2) may be out of most minds. But the Longhorns can renew the thinking in the first two weeks when they begin at DeSoto Friday and then play host to Duncanville on Oct. 6.
District 9-5A: There is no clear-cut favorite here. At least four teams have a chance to win this. That would be Burleson (3-0), Burleson Centennial (1-2), Arlington Seguin (1-2) and Crowley (1-2). In 2016, Crowley and Burleson shared the district championship. Arlington Seguin finished a game behind. These could be your playoff teams depending on the head-to-head results. Seguin has been a little off offensively. Defensively, the Cougars are sound. Burleson could start 3-0 in district play if it goes the way the Elks hope. Everman has endured a pretty rough start because it just hasn’t done much offensively. Plus, this program missed the 2016 postseason. Still, don’t discount the Bulldogs just yet. They’ve earned that respect.
District 10-5A: While this district takes its bye on Oct. 6, it’s probably coming at the right time. The first week of district play presented some interesting results when Mansfield Lake Ridge (3-1, 1-0) knocked off Lancaster (2-2, 0-1), 24-20, and Mansfield Summit (3-1, 1-0) won at Waxahachie (2-2, 0-1), 42-31. If Mansfield Legacy (3-1, 1-0) has its offensive issues resolved, then this team could become the favorite. Regardless, Legacy, Lake Ridge, Mansfield Timberview (2-2, 1-0) and Lancaster are going to wear each other out. The district champion could have two losses. It’s named the district of death for a reason.
This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Here are five district football races that could defy preseason expectations."