5A/4A Countdown

It took a state championship winner to knock Longview from the 2011 playoffs, and the Lobos figure to be a contender once again in 2012.

The John Tyler Lions football program has been building to this moment for the past three seasons, and with the 2012 season only a few days away, the time is now.

To characterize the Lufkin Panthers' offseason as unusual would be putting it mildly. Two days before Christmas, longtime Panthers coach John Outlaw passed away unexpectedly from an apparent heart attack.

Sulphur Springs enters the 2012 season without a veteran quarterback, but a pair of siblings should make the transition easier for whoever the new QB is.

The Tyler Lee Red Raiders may have only three wins in the last two years, but there are plenty of reasons for optimism in 2012.

Texas High doesn’t have the high-profile names on offense that it’s had in the past, such as Ryan Mallett, Cobi Hamilton, Nathan Sorenson, Kody Sutton, and John Michael McGee.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Jacksonville Indians were among the most successful in all of East Texas.

Hunter Taylor and Jonathan Aldridge have graduated, but don’t expect Whitehouse to stop scoring points anytime soon.

The move from an eight-team district to a six-team league should only help Hallsville in its quest to secure its first back-to-back playoff berths since 2005-06.

It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone when the Lindale Eagles were shipped back up to Class 4A in February. Lindale has been teetering on the borderline of 3A and 4A for the past 20 years.