We're getting close. The high school playoff season is drawing close. Teams are jockeying for position for one of their respective district's four playoff spots.
For the first rendition, we'll look at the current UIL playoff matchups for all classes (6A-1A) on the boys side of things. We'll head over to the girls playoff matchups Friday.
(NOTE: All seedings are based off MaxPreps standings. W = winner; R = runner-up; T = third place; F = fourth place)
R9 Ponder vs. T10 Whitewright
R10 Bells vs. T9 Pilot Point
W10 Van Alstyne vs. F9 Gunter
W9 Whitesboro vs. F10 Howe
W12 Mineola vs. F11 Dallas Gateway
W11 Dallas Madison vs. F12 Alba-Golden
R11 Dallas A+ vs. T12 Edgewood
R12 Rains vs. T11 Oak Cliff Life
Rankings after one week don’t mean much. After all, at this point of the season, we’ve had a round of scrimmages, often played in the early morning hours to avoid the searing heat, and – at best – one game to get an early sense of the contenders and pretenders.
I mention “at best” because Mother Nature did her best to disrupt and delay the start of the 2026 Texas High School season and often succeeded. Several games were delayed, cancelled or suspended in progress while others endured lengthy weather delays and finished in the wee hours.
That’s why Mother Nature is listed atop our inaugural Austin are football Power Rankings of 2026, tied with Lake Travis who will open their season this week.
Despite the adverse conditions, there were a few intriguing clues revealed about the new season. Vandegrift waited three hours to resume play, fell behind by 11 and came back to win on the road in overtime. Westlake defeated Ingleside from Cali in a nationally intriguing matchup whose “apples to oranges” intra-state nature did pundits who like to comparison shop no favors.
Weiss held off Round Rock in a good powerhouse matchup to lead the 5A schools while Anderson picked up a convincing road win to start their season. Bowie looked uber impressive in a big win over McNeil while Cedar Park’s return to prominence seems close with a thrilling win over former district rival A&M Consolidated.
Further down, Liberty Hill and Georgetown started their seasons on the right note to knock on the Top 10’s door while Austin LBJ picked up a nice road win to debut as the area’s highest 4A team.
All-in-all, an intriguing start to the season. So, we’ve thrown some darts at the dartboard after Week 1, pinned the tail on the donkey and come up with our first Power Ranking of 2026.
VYPE Austin Top 20 Combined Class 4A-6A
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
T-1. (NR) Mother Nature
T-1. (NR) Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) 0-0 (DNP)
2. (NR) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) -- 0-0 (DNP)
3. (NR) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) 1-0 (W-OT 28-21 @ SA Brennan)
4. (NR) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) 1-0 (W 33-26 vs. Ingleside, CA)
5. (NR) Weiss Wolves (5A-1) 1-0 (W 42-28 @ Round Rock)
6. (NR) Anderson Trojans (5A-1) 1-0 (W 34-6 @ Buda Johnson)
7. (NR) Bowie Bulldogs (6A) 1-0 (W 62-14 vs. McNeil)
8. (NR) Hutto Hippos (6A) 0-1 (L 53-50 vs. Harker Heights)
9. (NR) Round Rock Dragons (6A) 0-1 (L 42-28 vs. Weiss)
10. (NR) Bastrop Bears (5A-2) 0-1 (L 52-34 @ Montgomery Lake Creek)
11. (NR) Cedar Park Timberwolves (6A) 1-0 (W 40-35 vs. A&M Consolidated)
12. (NR) Liberty Hill (5A-2) 1-0 (W 34-30 vs. Killeen)
13. (NR) Georgetown Eagles (5A-1) 1-0 (W 28-20 vs. Temple)
14. (NR) LBJ Austin Jaguars (4A-1) 1-0 (W 42-33 @ Sam Houston)
15. (NR) Cedar Ridge Raiders (6A) 1-0 (W 21-6 vs. East View)
16. (NR) Hays Hawks (6A) 1-0 (W 29-27 @ San Marcos)
17. (NR) San Marcos Rattlers (6A) 0-1 (L 29-27 vs. Hays)
18. (NR) Pflugerville Panthers (5A-2) 1-0 (W 25-21 vs. Leander)
19. (NR) Wimberley Texans (4A-2) 0-0 (Cancelled)
20. (NR) Glenn Grizzlies (5A-1) 1-0 (W 14-3 @ Stony Point, Susp.)
21. (NR) Legacy Ranch Wranglers (5A-2) (W 59-0 vs. Manor New Tech)
VYPE Austin Top 5 Private Schools
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
xx. (NR) Regents Knights (TAPPS D2) 1-0 (W 45-14 @ Brazos Christian)
xx. (NR) St. Michael’s Warriors (TAPPS D1) 2-0 (W 21-10 @ Covenant)
xx. (NR) Hyde Park Panthers (TAPPS D2) 0-1 (BYE)
xx. (NR) St. Andrew’s (Southwest Prep) 1-0 (Cancelled)
xx. (NR) Brentwood Christian (TAPPS FL) 1-1 (L 54-14 @ Central Texas Christian)
Lewisville takes down Highland Park
By Cody Thorn
FRISCO — The third quarter was the only one in which Highland Park didn’t score a point on Saturday at the 6th Annual Jerry Jones Classic.
In that same quarter, Lewisville had a pair of touchdowns and those would prove to be big when the final whistle blew at The Ford Center at The Star, winning a shootout 56-42.
The fourth quarter featured a combined 35 points, but the two-touchdown margin win for the Fighting Farmers was buoyed by a 14-point third, when Lewisville overcame a 28-21 halftime deficit.
Laykon Brassfield threw the first of two touchdown passes to Derrick Martin III and wide receiver Landon Brazzell scored on an 18-yard run in that third quarter, building a 35-28 lead.
LINK TO TD RUN: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcox22mvOQQ/
Highland Park tied at 35-35 one play into the fourth quarter, but Lewisville scored 21 unanswered to ice the win against a Highland Park team ranked No. 6 in the Class 5A Division I rankings.
Martin had a four-yard touchdown run that broke the tie when he ran to his right, avoided a tackle, flipped the field and ran across and got into the end zone on a block from his quarterback.
Brassfield threw touchdown passes to Brazzell and Martin, who is a Missouri State pledge, to pad the lead. In his first start, Brassfield threw for five touchdowns and ran for another.
LINK TO HIS TD RUN: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcons0Gi6Qe/
“I want to thank God; God gave me the ability to play,” Brassfield said. “Shootouts are really stressful, because if you don’t score, they got the opportunity to score and they got the momentum. It was so fun, we got to go back out and push the field and the defense got a stop and we got to go push the field again. We kept hitting them in the mouth.”
Martin ran for 96 yards and had 6 catches for 98 yards and two scores. He earned MVP honors and a Dallas Cowboys jersey signed by Jerry Jones, who did the coin flip — which the Farmers won.
LINK TO COIN FLIP: https://www.instagram.com/p/DcoiCx2CwSk/
SMU pledge Buck Randall threw for 327 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Beckett Lawrence, while also adding another on the ground for the Scots.
LINK TO TD PASS TO BECKETT: https://www.instagram.com/p/DcoqNgbi9qy/
It was the most points the Farmers scored since also posting 56 in a win against Denton Braswell in 2024. Incidentally, this was the second game in a row Highland Park has given up 50 or more points. Playing at The Ford Center on Dec. 4, Frisco Lone Star posted a 58-38 win in a 5A-DI quarterfinal game.
Westlake takes down Ingleside Ca. over the weekend.
Rankings after one week don’t mean much.
After all, at this point of the season, we’ve had around of scrimmages, often played in the early morning hours to avoid the searing heat, and –at best – one game to get an early sense of the contenders and pretenders.
I mention “at best” because Mother Nature did her best to disrupt and delay the start of the 2026 Texas High School season and often succeeded. Several games were delayed, cancelled or suspended in progress while others endured lengthy weather delays and finished in the wee hours.
That’s why Mother Nature is listed atop our inaugural Austin are football Power Rankings of 2026, tied with Lake Travis who will open their season this week. Despite the adverse conditions, there were a few intriguing clues revealed about the new season.
Vandegrift waited three hours to resume play, fell behind by 11 and came back to win on the road in overtime.
Westlake defeated Ingleside from Cali in a nationally intriguing match up whose “apples to oranges” intra-state nature did pundits who like to comparison shop no favors.
Weiss held off Round Rock in a good powerhouse match up to lead the 5A schools while Anderson picked up a convincing road win to start their season. Bowie looked uber impressivein a big win over McNeil while Cedar Park’s return to prominence seems close with a thrilling win over former district rival A&M Consolidated.
Further down, Liberty Hill and Georgetown started their seasons on the right note to knock on the Top 10’s door while Austin LBJ picked up a nice road win to debut as the area’s highest 4A team.
All-in-all, an intriguing start to the season.
So, we’ve thrown some darts at the dart board after Week 1, pinned the tail on the donkey and come up with our first Power Ranking of 2026
.VYPE Austin Top 20 Combined Class 4A-6A.
VYPE Austin Top 20 Combined Class 4A-6A*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result.
TOP 20 RANKINGS
(NR) Mother Nature (NR)
1. Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) 0-0 (DNP)
2. (NR) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) 0-0 (DNP)
3. (NR) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) 1-0 (W-OT 28-21 @ SA Brennan)
3. (NR) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) 1-0 (W 33-26 vs. Ingleside, CA)
4. (NR) Weiss Wolves (5A-1) 1-0 (W 42-28 @ Round Rock)
5. (NR) Anderson Trojans (5A-1) 1-0 (W 34-6 @ Buda Johnson)
6. (NR) Bowie Bulldogs (6A) 1-0 (W 62-14 vs. McNeil)
7. (NR) Hutto Hippos (6A) 0-1 (L 53-50 vs. Harker Heights)
8. (NR) Round Rock Dragons (6A) 0-1 (L 42-28 vs. Weiss)
9. (NR) Bastrop Bears (5A-2) 0-1 (L 52-34 @ Montgomery Lake Creek)
10. (NR) Cedar Park Timberwolves (6A) 1-0 (W 40-35 vs. A&M Consolidated)
11. (NR) Liberty Hill (5A-2) 1-0 (W 34-30 vs. Killeen)
12. (NR) Georgetown Eagles (5A-1) 1-0 (W 28-20 vs. Temple)
13. (NR) LBJ Austin Jaguars (4A-1) 1-0 (W 42-33 @ Sam Houston)
14. (NR) Cedar Ridge Raiders (6A) 1-0 (W 21-6 vs. East View)
15. (NR) Hays Hawks (6A) 1-0 (W 29-27 @ San Marcos)
16. (NR) San Marcos Rattlers (6A) 0-1 (L 29-27 vs. Hays)
17. (NR) Pflugerville Panthers (5A-2) 1-0 (W 25-21 vs. Leander)
18. (NR) Wimberley Texans (4A-2) 0-0 (Cancelled)
19. (NR) Glenn Grizzlies (5A-1) 1-0 (W 14-3 @ Stony Point, Susp.)
20. (NR) Legacy Ranch Wranglers (5A-2) (W 59-0 vs. Manor New Tech)
....
VYPE Austin Top 5 Private Schools
*Last parentheses indicates most recent game result
1. (NR) Regents Knights (TAPPS D2) 1-0 (W 45-14 @ Brazos Christian)
2. (NR) St. Michael’s Warriors (TAPPS D1) 2-0 (W 21-10 @ Covenant)
3. (NR) Hyde Park Panthers (TAPPS D2) 0-1 (BYE)
4. (NR) St. Andrew’s (Southwest Prep) 1-0 (Cancelled)
5. (NR) Brentwood Christian (TAPPS FL) 1-1 (L 54-14 @ Central Texas Christian)
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