Inside District 17-5A

An in-depth look at 17-5A, one of Texas high school football's wildest districts.

Now that Texas high school football is back in the swing of things, one thing is for sure about District 17-5A, and that’s this - This district is still fairly wide open. Obviously, one team is probably going to pull ahead of the pack as end of the regular season nears, but right now there’s multiple different teams pulling in different directions and that’s what makes this district such a mystery.  It doesn’t help that 17 is one of the largest districts in the state, with eight teams sharing the namesake “Cypress” and two tacked on for good measure (Langham Creek and Jersey Village.)  Before last week, three teams (Cypress Fair, Cypress Creek, and Cypress Springs) were all 3-0, with two of those wins being district games. Springs fell to Creek on Saturday but that’s not to say the matchup wasn’t a fight to the finish - the two Cypress rivals were tied at 21 going into halftime before Creek made a final statement and dropped Springs to a 3-1 record. Springs has made considerable strides four games into the season; Those three wins are impressive compared to their 1-9 showing in the 2012 season. Springs still has all the firepower needed to make their presence feared in 17-5A, it’s just about finding an even-keeled strategy for quarterback Tony Brown - Brown is an excellent runner and boasts a 60 percent pass completion rate, but his Achilles heel is the six interceptions he’s tallied so far. Cypress Creek could claim they’re the team to beat in this district, but there are a few measurable concerns. Yes, they’re now currently 4-0, and a win is a win, but a drive in the final 25 seconds of play was what earned Creek their most recent win - not exactly a beat-down if you ask me. Creek also draws a question mark at the quarterback spot. Ross Hargrove has been sharing snaps with Brett Baumgartner; Baumgartner sat this one due to an injury and Hargrove threw for 201 yards, but he also passed for an equal amount of interceptions to touchdowns (two). They likely won’t have too many problems with Jersey Village this week, but hopefully Baumgartner heals and Hargrove shakes off Saturday’s so-so performance so Creek can find some consistency under center.  Cy-Fair’s perfect record was broken last week as well, but to a now 2-2 Cy Ridge. Not much seemed to stand out in last Thursday’s game except for a sleepy Cy Fair offense. Granted, Fair running back Dillon Birden sat half the game with an injury, but the Ridge defense held Fair to a measly 94 offensive yards total. Constant offensive transition for Ridge duped Fair into their first loss of the season - a 20-0 loss at that - which undeniably makes a prediction for king of 17 even harder.  Maybe week five will clear up some questions that Cypress area fans might have.  Not one team is standing out as a clear contender, but that’s what makes 17-5A so perplexing - each week is a battle of the unknowns.