The Texas 20, No. 4: Who will be Texas HS football's Cinderella?

[caption id="attachment_18061" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Shane Roper Photo by Shane Roper[/caption] This is the Texas 20, DCTF’s countdown of the 20 biggest storylines heading into the 2015 football season.No. 20: Is there a college sleeper in Texas?No. 19: Which Texas high school football records will be broken?No. 18: State title games headed to HoustonNo. 17: Will anyone play defense this season?No. 16: Can Allen keep dominating without Kyler Murray?No. 15: Cameron Yoe’s chase for a fourth straight titleNo. 14: New coaches at SMU and HoustonNo. 13: Can DeSoto finally get over the hump?No. 12: What will be the best region in the state?No. 11: Is anyone in Texas on the college coaching hot seat?No. 10: Are Rice or UTEP ready for the national spotlight?No. 9: Can anyone stop Canadian and Refugio?No. 8: Kliff Kingsbury's quest to turn flash into victoriesNo. 7: Aledo's chase for Texas high school football immortality No. 6: The quarterback situation at Texas No. 5: The John Chavis Effect at A&MToday, we’ve reached No. 4: Who will be this year's Texas high school football Cinderella? You know the favorites in every classification — if not, check out DCTF’s preseason rankings. But in Texas high school football, favorites are boring. Sorry, but they are. What we want are sleepers, the Cinderella team that can catch fire at the right time and capture the imagination of the state en route to an unlikely state championship. Of course, identifying Cinderella teams is inherently tricky — part of what makes them a Cinderella is that we’re not expecting them. But for now, with Texas high school football season ready to kick off tomorrow, here’s a squad in each classification that could push back midnight for 16 games and stun the state. Class 6A Cinderella: Odessa Permian It’s been too long since West Texas was relevant on a statewide level, but Permian may have the best shot to bring glory back to the oil patches of the Permian basin. MOJO Magic welcomes back 18 starters, including DB Des Smith and RB Brandon Bailey, from a team that got better as the season went on in 2014. And you know that the Panthers will have plenty of support if they catch fire come November. Class 5A Cinderella: Wylie East Dallas-Fort Worth is loaded with contenders in 5A, we know. But there’s something about Wylie East this year. Maybe it’s RB Eno Benjamin, a 1,700-yard rusher. Maybe it’s WR Jared Wyatt, a 1,000-yard receiver. Maybe it’s QB Braden Shewmake, a 2,000-yard passer. Maybe it’s the defense, which returns six starters. Maybe…maybe the Raiders have the pieces to put it all together. Class 4A Cinderella: Mexia You want a team that looks poised for a big leap? Check out the Blackcats. QB Jaylen Gipson is back after an all-district season and could be in for an even bigger year alongside RB Matron Gerald. But if Mexia is really going to make noise in 4A Division II, it’s because of the defense, anchored by DT Demetri Freeman. Class 3A Cinderella: Post Back out west, is anyone paying attention to Post? The Antelopes were 8-4 last year, and welcome back what could be a sensational defense led by DB Cambry Gilbert. There are few more talented two-way players than RB/LB A.J. Reed, who dazzled on both sides of the ball. 3A Division II is loaded, especially in Region I, but if playmakers emerge, we could be talking about something special in Post. Class 2A Cinderella: Bells I wrote earlier about how it seems like a sure thing that Canadian and Refugio will meet in the 2A Division I title game…but what if someone from Region II crashes the party? Y’know, like Bells? Don’t forget: the Panthers have a 4,300-yard passer (Derrick Ponder) and two big-time wide receivers (Ethan Sanford, Chris Hall) back, as well as nine starters from last year’s defense. Just…keep an eye on them. Class 1A Cinderella: Hermleigh The late-offseason move of coach Shane Mallory and superstar QB Coletyn King from Throckmorton to Hermleigh shook the six-man world, and for good reason: they were a lethal combination for T-Rock, and could be just as good for the Cardinals.