New district following realignment

Wimberley Texan Athletics found out what their new district was going to be like as UIL released the new alignments for the 2022-2023 seasons in basketball, football, and volleyball.

For Texan football, Wimberley was moved from District 14 to District 13 along with Austin Achieve, Geronimo Navarro, and Manor Tech.

With Austin Eastside Memorial opting up to 5A D2 and San Antonio YMLA staying in District 14, Wimberley will see two new district opponents in Lago Vista, who is moving up from 3A D1 and Jarrell who is moving down south from Region III.

With two new schools added to the district schedule, head football coach Doug Warren was pleased with this year’s alignment despite the district being tougher.

“This is going to be a tougher district,” Warren said. “The overall district has been improved with the two teams that were added, Lago Vista, who went to the state semifinals, is a really good program and has been really competitive. We’ve scheduled them during our scrimmages. Jarrell I’m not sure about, because I know very little about them. But from what I’ve heard they also have been competitive and are growing in enrollment. Overall I think the district is going to be more competitive than last year’s district.”

Last year, Lago Vista finished with a 10-4 overall and made an appearance in the state semifinals in 3A DI before falling to eventual state champion Lorena. Jarrell on the other hand finished with a 2-8 record.

One of the major shifts that happened in Realignment for 4A D2 was the movement of the Cuero district that featured Giddings, Gonzales, La, Grange and Smithville. The district added Caldwell and was shifted from Region IV to Region III.

With the move, a potential Cuero-Wimberley playoff showdown will be possible in the State semifinals, as opposed to their more traditional meeting earlier in the playoffs.

Another major shift was powerhouse Carthage being shifted from Region III to Region II meaning the Texans wouldn’t have to face the Bulldogs until the State Championship Game.

As for the 2022 football season, the Texans will battle Lampasas once again while reuniting two rivalry games in Canyon Lake and Fredericksburg.

For both Canyon Lake, better known as the Battle of the Backbone, and Fredericksburg, this will be the 13th consecutive year Wimberley has played both rivals.

Two new opponents for this year’s schedule are the Pieper Warriors, who are starting their first season in UIL, and the Brock Eagles from 3A D1.

This unusual matchup between Wimberley and Brock was a product of circumstance as both teams were struggling to find opponents.

“I have got a coaching friend in Brock who I met at a funeral before realignment,” Warren said. “We talked about potentially scheduling because Brock has had a hard time scheduling teams due to their program’s success. During realignment, we were still looking for a week 3 game when I got a call from the Brock coach saying if we were still in search of a Week 3 game, and we came to an agreement. Right now we are scheduling a neutral site game either in Waco or Belton.”

Football wasn’t the only program affected by realignment as both basketball and volleyball teams were placed in new districts.

For Wimberley, the Texans are still looped with Bandera, Boerne, Canyon Lake, Davenport and Fredericksburg but the UIL has added one more school as Geronimo Navarro will also join the district leaving their previous district bunkmates in Cuero, Gonzales, La Vernia, Pleasanton, and Somerset.

The Panthers, already having excellent programs in all three sports, will continue to add to an already tough district in both volleyball and basketball as well as grow the burgeoning rivalry between Navarro and Wimberley.

“Honestly I love it,” Warren said. “It’s a natural rivalry and I’m all for those close rivalries. I was a little surprised though because I thought they (Navarro) would be sent south but the UIL paired them with us this year. It’s going to be competitive in that district.”

Realignments for Baseball, Soccer, Softball, and the Spring Athletic sports will be released later in the year.