2016 Region Outlooks: 6A Region I

SR1_9468The UIL recently realigned the district for the 2016 and 2017 football seasons. Realignment not only changes district races. Regional championships can be decided with new groupings competing once the playoffs begin. We’ll take a closer look at the frontrunners in each region throughout the spring doldrums. Class 6A – Region 1 The usual suspects should dominate Region 1 of the biggest classification in football. Juggernauts like Allen, DeSoto and Cedar Hill will be state-ranked to begin the season. Arlington ISD, Southlake Carroll, Euless Trinity and Mansfield will field teams capable of knocking off the giants in the playoffs. Allen It says a lot about a program when reaching the state semifinals is a down year. That’s where Allen is as a football powerhouse. It is state title or bust for the state’s largest school and Tom Westerberg will no longer be the man in charge. The former head coach and three-time state champion moved on to Barbers Hill. The Eagles had no shortage of candidates, choosing former Waco Midway head coach Terry Gambill to takeover. There will be no shortage on talent, per usual. Quarterbacks Mitchell Jonke and Jared Harvey have wide receiver Xavier Miller and offensive lineman William Sherman to anchor the offense. The defense is always filled with FBS talent. DeSoto The new realignment could open up new avenues for DeSoto. The enrollment makeup of District 7-6A might allow the Eagles to compete in the Class 6A D2 playoff bracket, avoiding Allen. Allen has been DeSoto’s thorn over the past several years. This team will be capable of beating Allen, as it’s proved over the last few years with close losses in playoff matchups. There is no denying that getting a nod in Division II is the easier route. School size matters. Edward Ingram and Hyrin White, both three-star offensive linemen, give the offense a foundation. Wide receiver K.D. Nixon is a playmaker. The offense will need to replace quarterback Tristen Wallace and running back La’Darren Brown, but talent is never in short supply at DeSoto. Cedar Hill The Longhorns find themselves in the same position as Allen. State championships set high expectations and Cedar Hill aims for a return to the top in 2016 after being knocked out in the bi-district round against Southlake Carroll in 2015. It wasn’t like Cedar Hill wasn’t really good. Joey McGuire’s team lost two games all season by a combined seven points. But, no matter the circumstances surrounding the bi-district loss, a first-round playoff exit is not the standard. The offense is loaded with playmakers. Quarterback Avery Davis has a trio of FBS wide receivers in Charleston Rambo, Jaylon Jackson and Camron Buckley. Kaegun Williams returns to carry the load on offense. Defensively, linebacker Dimitri Moore will be the leader. Mansfield Mansfield no longer occupies the same district as Cedar Hill and DeSoto. The Tigers are the reigning Region I, Division II champions after a 12-3 season that ended in the state semifinals to Lake Travis. Jeff Hulme’s former team (the coach moved on to Waco Midway to take the gig Gambill left open) now occupies District 4-6A, along with the Arlington ISD schools, North Crowley and Fort Worth Paschal. It won’t be easy to claim another regional championship, but running back Kennedy Brooks makes Mansfield a contender to win state. Brooks was All-State as a junior, putting up video game numbers throughout the season and in the playoffs. The 5-foot-11, 193-pound running back already holds offers from programs like Michigan and Texas Tech.

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