Redistricting leads to new opponents for MP, CH, HB

Redistricting leads to new opponents for MP, CH, HB News Staff Fri, 02/02/2024 - 20:59 Image

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The UIL shuffled the deck for its biannual redistricting Thursday morning, with local teams receiving a few new dance partners for the next two school years.

Local districts awaited their new assignments as the UIL made the official announcement at 9 a.m. Thursday, then got to work creating their plans. Mount Pleasant will have one addition in football and two in basketball, Chapel Hill gets an almost completely new district and Harts Bluff prepares for their third year as part of a UIL district.

Mount Pleasant’s new football district loses one team and adds a former district opponent to what will become District 7-5A Division II.

Pine Tree will drop to 4A Division I and Jacksonville will take their place. The district will consist of Mount Pleasant, Hallsville, Jacksonville, Marshall, Nacogdoches, Texas High and Whitehouse.

The teams of 7-5A Division II will take on the teams of 8-5A: Dayton, Huntsville, Montgomery, Lake Creek (Montgomery), Nederland, West Fork (New Caney), Splendora and defending division II state champion Port Neches-Groves.

Last season, Mount Pleasant missed out on a playoff berth thanks to upsets on the final night of the season with Marshall winning over Whitehouse and Pine Tree winning at Texas High. The black and gold Tigers won over Marshall, Nacogdoches and Hallsville last season but lost to Texas High, Whitehouse and Pine Tree.

The last time the Tigers played Jacksonville, Mount Pleasant won, 51-13. The Tigers have won the last three meetings against the Fightin’ Indians.

Jacksonville moves up from 4A Division I. In football, the Fightin’ Indians finished last season 0-10, finishing seventh in a district with Athens, 4A Division I state runners-up, Tyler Chapel Hill, Henderson, Kilgore, Lindale and Palestine. The Indians’ highest point total in a game last season was 29 in a 70-29 loss to Chapel Hill.

The Tigers’ basketball district loses Pine Tree and Longview, who is moving up to 6A, and gains Jacksonville and Lufkin to go with their football opponents in what should be a scintillating hoops district, 10-5A. The district includes every East Texas 5A school.

Currently, Mount Pleasant is tied for first place in district play on the boys side with Longview. Hallsville sits in third with Tyler in fourth place.

Jacksonville’s boys and girls are both in position to make the playoffs, with the Fightin’ Maidens holding a season record of 25-8 and undefeated in district play and the Indians sitting at 4-2 in district play.

Jacksonville’s boys have wins over Tyler, Whitehouse, Nacogdoches and Texas High this season with a loss to Hallsville. Jacksonville’s girls have wins over Marshall (twice) and Nacogdoches and a loss to Whitehouse this year.

As for Lufkin, the Panthers are 19-11 overall and currently sit at 6-0 in district play. The Panthers have wins over Nacogdoches and Jacksonville this season. The Lady Panthers are 7-17 thus far this season with an outside shot at a playoff berth and have a win over Marshall.

The volleyball district is the same as the basketball district.

In volleyball, Lufkin won their previous district championship. The Lady Panthers finished last season 33-15, falling in the bi-district round to Texas High. The Fightin’ Maidens finished 10-29 and finished tied for fourth, losing the district tiebreaker to Rusk. Jacksonville picked up two wins over Mount Pleasant and also lost against Tyler.

The basketball and volleyball teams will meet the teams of District 9-5A in the bidistrict round: Anna, Denison, Greenville, Lucas Lovejoy, McKinney North, Melissa, Sherman and Walnut Grove (Prosper).

The Chapel Hill Red Devils will remain with Harmony in their new basketball and volleyball districts, but Chapel Hill will receive five new opponents in the new 13-3A.

Chapel Hill’s new district includes Harmony, Daingerfield, New Diana, Hughes Springs and Jefferson.

Currently, the Red Devil boys are 28-1 on the season and ranked fifth in class 3A. The Lady Devils are 18-12 and in third place in district. Harmony’s girls are 1217 overall and the boys are 11-10, currently fourth in district.

Daingerfield’s boys are currently second in their district after getting a late start to the season thanks to the Tigers’ trip to the 3A state semifinals in football. Hughes Springs is 7-20 on the season and tied for fourth in the same district. The Lady Tigers have won two games this season and the Lady Mustangs are winless.

New Diana is also currently in the same district as Daingerfield and Hughes Springs. The Eagle boys are in third place in district play with the season sweep over Hughes Springs, a loss to Daingerfield and a loss out of district play to Chapel Hill. The Lady Eagles currently sit in third place in district play with a win over Harmony and season sweeps over Daingerfield and Hughes Springs.

Jefferson’s boys are 20-5 and have played Daingerfield three times in nondistrict play, winning all three. The Bulldogs eliminated Chapel Hill from the playoffs last season. They are second in district behind Tatum. The Lady Bulldogs are 23-8 and are second behind stateranked and 25-1 Tatum in their district standings.

In volleyball, New Diana and Hughes Springs both made the playoffs. The Lady Mustangs reached the regional quarterfinals before falling to Harmony, who advanced to the regional semifinal this past season. Chapel Hill also made the playoffs in volleyball and Jefferson missed a playoff spot by a game.

The teams of District 13 will meet the teams of 14-3A in the bidistrict round: Atlanta, DeKalb, Hooks, Liberty- Eylau, New Boston, Queen City and Redwater.

Harts Bluff received its second official UIL district Thursday morning with two districts – only one of which saw a change.

The Lady Bulldog volleyball team will remain with its same district partners with two additions in the new 17-2A: Rivercrest, Clarksville, Detroit, James Bowie and Maud.

Last season, Harts Bluff finished second and defeated Maud in the bi-district round and Rivercrest finished third and won over James Bowie in the bi-district round. Detroit finished first and Clarksville finished fourth in district play.

The volleyball teams of 17-2A will meet the teams of 18-2A in bi-district: Big Sandy, Hawkins, Linden-Kildare, Ore City, Pewitt and Union Grove. The basketball district, 16-2A, is also the same with one addition as Paul Pewitt drops from 3A Division II to join the district.

In the current iteration of the district, Rivercrest is first on the boys side, followed by Harts Bluff going into their meeting Friday. Maud, James Bowie and Clarksville are battling for playoff spots as well.

The Brahma boys are sixth in a district that includes sixth-ranked Hooks and have won 10 games a year after winning just two. The Brahmas have played Harts Bluff, Rivercrest (twice) and James Bowie this season, going 2-2.

On the girls’ side, Harts Bluff is tied for first with James Bowie and Detroit. Harts Bluff swept Detroit and James Bowie swept Harts Bluff in district play. The Lady Pirates and Lady Eagles play Tuesday in Simms. If James Bowie wins that game, they will hold tiebreakers over both the Lady Eagles and Lady Bulldogs. Clarksville and Rivercrest still have claims to playoff spots – the Lady Rebels split with James Bowie and finish their season against Harts Bluff and Clarksville. Rivercrest won the first meeting against Harts Bluff and lost the first meeting at Clarksville.

The Lady Brahmas are in the midst of a tough season with only three wins on the year and lost a close game against Maud earlier this year.

The teams of 16-2A will meet the teams of 15-2A in bi-district: Como-Pickton, Cooper, Cumby, Fate Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy (PTAA), Greenville PTAA, North Hopkins, Quinlan Boles and Yantis.

Districts for the spring sports – baseball, softball, track, golf, tennis – will be released later in the year.