Welcome to the American-Statesman's annual Central Texas Top 10 preseason countdown.
High school sports reporters Rick Cantu and Colby Gordon rank the top 10 Austin-area football teams heading into the 2024 UIL season. The teams boast offensive and defensive stars with more than two dozen future Division I football players.
So who's No. 1? Is it Wimberley? One of the Battle of the Lake participants? Someone else?
THE DEFINITIVE LIST: Our top 100 Austin-area high school football players heading into the 2024 season
Find our rankings and a full breakdown of each Austin-area power below:
Central Texas Top 10 preseason countdown
Georgetown football won six games then fell 41-25 in their bi-district playoff game. Georgetown is breaking in a sophomore under center this year, but has solid wideouts and one of the area's top defenses — led by Seth Warren .
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Eagles are known for high-flying offenses, but their defense may reign supreme
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS FOR A HUNGRY, CONSISTENT GEORGETOWN PROGRAM ]
Cedar Park football (9-4) defeated New Braunfels Canyon and Angleton in the playoffs before losing to A&M Consolidated in the regional semifinals. With a new signal-caller, running back Trae Hill should be in for another big season.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Cedar Park's talented RB — and hungry O-line — confident despite new QB
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS FOR A CEDAR PARK SQUAD LEANING ON DOMINANT RUN GAME ]
Dripping Springs football racked up 11 wins before losing in the fourth round of the playoffs last season. Head coach George Zimmerman is looking for the program's ninth straight playoff appearance.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Dripping Springs vying replace Lake Travis, Westlake as top dogs in district
[ 3 QUESTIONS FOR A TIGERS TEAM LIGHT ON EXPERIENCE BUT HEAVY ON TALENT ]
Liberty Hill football went 10-5 and suffered a seven-point loss in the state semifinals. The Panthers will not have to travel as much as in previous years thanks to realignment. Watch out for Alister Vallejo this season.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: As No. 7 Liberty Hill's offense revs up to speed, its defense will lead the way in 2024
[ 3 KEY PLAYERS, QUESTIONS FOR LIBERTY HILL INCLUDE: WHO'S THE NEXT GREAT RB? ]
LBJ football finished 8-4 with a loss in the area round of the playoffs. The Jags will lean on quarterback Ali Scott and could threaten a deep run in 4A after moving down from 5A.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Why coach Joseph Rauls has an enviable problem with the Jaguars
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS FOR AN LBJ TEAM WITH TRUE STATE-TITLE ASPIRATIONS ]
Vandegrift football ran up a 10-1 record before a bi-district loss in the postseason. A stingy defense, led by Daeshon Morgan , will debut a quarterback who led the JV team to an unbeaten 2023 season.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Vandegrift will rely on defense while revamped offense makes its mark this fall
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS FOR A VIPERS TEAM THAT NEEDS ITS OFFENSE TO MATCH ITS OFFENSE ]
Weiss football finished 9-2 and won a district title, but lost in bi-districts. After dropping from 6A to 5A, the Wolves add running back DJ Dugar via transfer to join fellow FBS commit, wide receiver Adrian Wilson .
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Why the best CB-WR battle in Texas may happen on a Weiss football practice field
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS FOR A WEISS ROSTER REPLACING STAR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN ]
Wimberley football was a perfect 10-0 in the regular season for the second straight year before losing in the state semis. With top players returning at quarterback and linebacker, the Texas have the leadership for another impressive season.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: Why Wimberley believes it has what it takes for a Class 4A state title
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS FOR A TALENTED NEW-LOOK WIMBERLEY TEAM ]
Lake Travis football went 11-3 overall, 8-2 in the regular season and lost to rival Westlake 21-14 in the fourth round of the playoffs. But they return several starters on each side of the ball and have plenty reasons to expect a deep run.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: No. 2 Lake Travis believes passing prowess will spur trip back to state
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS AS LAKE TRAVIS TRIES TO CLOSE GAP WITH RIVAL WESTLAKE ]
Westlake football racked up 14 wins ahead of a disheartening loss a game away from the state finals. Having Elliott Schaper , the area defensive player of the year, return should help a talented team bringing back slightly more than half of its starters.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM: How Westlake plans to reach sky-high expectations in 2024
[ 3 QUESTIONS, 3 KEY PLAYERS AS CHAPS LOOK TO GET OVER SEMIFINAL HUMP ]
Tyler Davis can be reached at tjdavis@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer .
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UIL football: American-Statesman's 2024 Central Texas top-10 preseason countdown
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