Westlake and Lake Travis have been sitting atop the District 26-6A standings for the better part of a decade. Bowie usually joins them in the playoff hunt, joined more recently by Dripping Springs when the Tigers moved up to 6A. Although the pathway to the playoffs is slightly more open in other sports than it is in football, that still doesn’t leave a lot of room for anyone else to reach the playoffs.

Not content to wait until the Cavs and the Chaps move into a different district next season the Austin High Maroons might be eyeballing the district race with a slightly more hopeful attitude this season. Lake Travis was supposed to be the dominant team in this year’s race, but the Cavs are only off to a 7-8-1 start. Westlake enters district play at 7-10 overall. (Not that anyone expects either of those squads to struggle for long.) Meanwhile, Bowie is 12-3-1 and Dripping Springs is 12-4-1. So, the window is still narrow.