Big changes for Liberty Hill, other Austin-area schools as UIL announces realignment
Liberty Hill coach Kent Walker checked out the list of schools in his new athletic district on Thursday and discovered seven new teams.
The UIL announced its biennial realignment and reclassification of the state's public high schools, and perhaps no school was affected more than Liberty Hill.
This Liberty Hill story has little to do with the talent that the new district brings to the table. Instead, the Panthers will stay closer to home for the next two years instead of traveling to places such as Kerrville (105 miles away), San Antonio (113), Cedar Creek (54) and Lockhart (66).
"This is going to be really good for our fans," Walker said. "A lot less travel for them. Less on the travel budget. Now we'll have a lot of good competition from teams in the Austin area."
Indeed, Liberty Hill has four opponents with Austin addresses — Crockett, LASA, McCallum and Navarro. Rounding out District 11-5A are Bastrop, Elgin, Pflugerville and Connally. Bastrop is the only team in this group that was on Liberty Hill's district schedule the past two years.
Speaking of Crockett, Cougars coach Darrick Norton said the addition of Liberty Hill to his school's district will be a tall order.
"If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best," Norton said.
More than 100 area coaches drove to Kelly Reeves Stadium early Thursday morning to learn about their schools' status. After the announcement, many of them spent more than an hour lining up nondistrict games for the next two years. Westlake's season will open against Prosper, which went 13-2 last season; Lake Travis, meanwhile, lined up nondistrict games against Arlington Martin, Rockwall and Midland Legacy. Georgetown scheduled Victoria East, Belton and Copperas Cove. Crockett will play Canyon Lake and Marble Falls.
More: See the state-wide high school districts
Big changes for Austin school district
Anderson coach Donald Hatcher will not have to worry about powerhouses Westlake, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs on his schedule for the next two years. Instead, the North Austin school will drop from Class 6A to 5A, a move that should help the Trojans, particularly in football.
Anderson now finds itself in District 12-5A Division I with Cedar Creek, Hays, College Station, A&M Consolidated, Lehman, Lockhart, Hendrickson and Weiss.
Speaking of Austin district schools, five of them — Travis, Northeast, LBJ, Eastside and Achieve — were shifted from Class 5A to 4A; District 13-4A DI will also include Taylor and Manor New Tech.
"I'm going to miss having LBJ in our district," Crockett's Norton said. "We were becoming good rivals. And Northeast, too. I have such a high regard for coach (Abdul) Mustafa. He never has large numbers, but those kids always play hard for him. And I'll miss the (Northeast) band."
Suburbs see UIL changes, too
Cedar Park will remain a Class 5A DI school but will have three new teams in its district — Rouse, Killeen Chaparral and Lake Belton. In a more subtle move, the Timberwolves are shifting from Region III to Region II, meaning they will play Dallas-area schools in the first round of the playoffs in all sports. By contrast, they played San Antonio-area schools in the first round of the playoffs the past two years.
"We're accustomed to tough districts," Cedar Park coach Michael Quintero said. "It is what it is. Let's go to work."
More: Liberty Hill girls enjoying the journey to a possible state tournament
Weiss will see a dramatic switch in competition by dropping from Class 6A to 5A. Furthermore, the Wolves won't have to travel as much for games in District 12-5A DI. They had to travel to Waco, Copperas Cove, Bryan, Harker Heights and Temple the past two years but now will have games against Anderson, Cedar Creek, Hays, Lockhart and rival Hendrickson. As a member of Region III, Weiss will be matched against Houston-area schools in the first round of playoff competition.
Hutto will see a dramatic change, too, becoming the only newcomer in District 25-6A. It's already a tough district, and the Hippos will face off against state power Vandegrift, Manor, Vista Ridge and the Round Rock schools.
On a positive note, Hutto's travel will decrease after spending the past two years playing in Temple, Waco, Copperas Cove and Bryan.
"This is a very competitive district, but I feel the Hippos fit in with the good competition," Hutto athletic director Brad LaPlante said. "There are some classy coaches and teams in 25-6A. All of the (athletic directors) in the district are hardworking, lead with integrity and are a pleasure to work alongside."
Said Westwood's Anthony Wood, "We know all about Hutto, and they just made our district a lot tougher."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Hutto makes leap to district that includes Vandegrift, Round Rock
