2016 Region Outlooks: 6A Region II

Photo by Jerome HicksThe 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. Previous Outlooks:6A Region IClass 6A – Region II The Region II championships are up for grabs following the movement of Lake Travis and Westlake, the defending regional champions, to Region IV. Humble Atascocita, a regional finalist in 2015, also moved regions. It is a wide-open region with numerous contenders. Dallas Skyline District 9-6A will be a fun race in 2016. Skyline is known for producing a ton of talent, but was bumped out of the playoffs early in 2015. That is an undeniable theme for the DISD school. Skyline was eliminated from the playoffs by Rowlett, which ended up losing in the next round to Atascocita. It was one of three losses on the season; the other two were against Cedar Hill and Dallas Jesuit. Jesuit is another contender out of District 9, but so is Coppell. The Cowboys' record was misleading in 2015. The season ended with a four-point playoff loss to DeSoto. Coppell’s playoff run will no longer include the likes of DeSoto and Allen in Region I. Longview/Lufkin The East Texas powerhouses are split at the Class 6A level. Longview went 11-3 in 2015 and reached the Class 5A Region II finals in Division I of last year’s playoffs. John King’s team drew a district with the Mesquite and Rockwall schools, along with Tyler and Tyler Lee. Both of those teams, along with Lufkin will contend. The Panthers face an interesting district challenge. Instead of being placed with Longview, Lufkin will go south towards Houston to play teams from Conroe and Beaumont West Brook and Montgomery. Longview eliminated Lufkin from the playoffs in 2015. Spring Westfield Westfield lost two games in 2015. The first came to Klein Collins in district play and the second was in the playoffs to Lake Travis, the eventual Region II champions. The seven-point loss to Lake Travis was the closest game the Cavaliers had in Region II. That bodes well for Westfield with Lake Travis no longer in the picture. Running back Daniel Young will be a handful for defenses as a senior. Rockwall Rockwall fell in the championship round of the Region II finals to Lake Travis. The Yellowjackets started 2015 off with consecutive losses to Denton Ryan, Euless Trinity and Mesquite Horn before reeling off 10-straight victories to meet up with the Cavaliers. Head coach Rodney Webb’s program gained a ton of momentum and experience to use in 2016.

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