District 9-5A D1 Thread 2026/2027

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Might as well kick this off. What are some early thoughts? 

 

I'll be posting mine in a few. 

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Upcoming 2026 season:

 

Titans should return 2 or 3 on offense and 5 or 6 on defense. That's not too far from normal, they normally return on avg 4 on O and 6 on D. 

 

Last time they had to replace a good number of starters was going into the 2022 season where they returned 3 on O and 5 on D, big thing going into that season was having a brand new backfield, several OL were sophs and only had 1 starting WR return, really similar to this upcoming season. I don't expect a duplication of that particular season (9-1 regular season with a 3rd round playoff run) or even last season due to the lack of experience returning as a whole offensively. New QB will probably be a sophomore. Having to replace a 4yr kicker/punter wont be fun either in sticky situations. I think defensively we'll be fine long as the injury bug doesn't hit. I expect to see alot of sophomores playing as well on both sides, another youth movement sorta speak. 

 

Lowered expectations for me, at worst 6-4, at best 8-2.

I'm going 7-3 for the regular season (2-0 in non-district) and sneak into the playoffs. 

 

Playoff teams without seeding attached: Port Arthur Memorial, La Porte, Lufkin and Beaumont United. 

 

I think Beaumont West Brook might be the most talented team in the district, but coaching will be their downfall. 

[Big Daddy Cool]

Wait just a minute now. You're telling me you think Beaumont United is going to make the playoffs? 

[OlDawg]

La Porte returns the following D1 players:

• Sean Simon (RB)
• Peyton Smith (WR)
• Ryker Reynolds (TE)
• Caden Watson (Edge)

They also return highly regarded Josh Wells at QB. I'd also expect Jacob Berneathy (DL) to receive some D1 looks, and Godbolt-Carr is a reliable, underrated and versatile slot type receiver/RB.

They'll return around 4-5 starters on both sides of the ball. Multiple players received extensive playing time last year that weren't technically starters. But, they'll have youth on both lines. I see their success depending on how quickly the OL and DL develop. LP has historically had success developing solid lines. The first game against high-flying FB Crawford and their elite passing game is a very good addition for an LP D that's historically weak against the pass. I'll be curious to see what kind of O they bring out, and if they bring up the young RB who was on the Freshman team last year to complement Simon, or if they go with someone else.

I'd like to see the D get back to historical LP standards after somewhat of an 'off year'.

La Porte gets both PAM & Lufkin at home.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

1 hour ago, Big Daddy Cool said:

Wait just a minute now. You're telling me you think Beaumont United is going to make the playoffs? 

Yes. 

[1970]

5 hours ago, Big Daddy Cool said:

Wait just a minute now. You're telling me you think Beaumont United is going to make the playoffs? 

Didn't they made the playoffs last season?  IDK how many returning starters they'll have, other than the QB, who will be a Sr. 

[Austin1985]

14 minutes ago, 1970 said:

Didn't they made the playoffs last season?  IDK how many returning starters they'll have, other than the QB, who will be a Sr. 

Desotel is gone.  The new qb is a transfer from across town and is a gamer(I've heard).  He will be a jr.....

[BMTSoulja1]

Some questions just don’t need to be answered.  I’m sure he was just being sarcastic.  🙄

[Big Daddy Cool]

41 minutes ago, BMTSoulja1 said:

Some questions just don’t need to be answered.  I’m sure he was just being sarcastic.  🙄

Yes and no! I didn't realize that BU made the playoffs last year. If they've finally got things going in the right direction good for them.

[OlDawg]

On 2/9/2026 at 10:31 AM, Mr. Buddy Garrity said:

Playoff teams without seeding attached: Port Arthur Memorial, La Porte, Lufkin and Beaumont United. 

 

I think Beaumont West Brook might be the most talented team in the district, but coaching will be their downfall. 

Out of the teams you have listed as your probable PO teams, Lufkin gets them all at Abe except for La Porte. They also get BWB at Abe.

Interesting note:

La Porte will be trying for their 4th straight District Championship, and the 2nd consecutive when paired with 9-5A. Since Berneathy's return in 2022, La Porte is 25-5 in district play, and 21-1 the last 3 years between 9-5A & 11-5A. La Porte's last district loss was in 2023 at PAM which evened the all-time series between the 2 teams at 7-7.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

1 minute ago, OlDawg said:

Out of the 4 teams you have listed as your probable PO teams, Lufkin gets them all at Abe except for La Porte.

Yep, 1st district game for us is against Lufkin week-3. 

[OlDawg]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Buddy Garrity said:

Yep, 1st district game for us is against Lufkin week-3. 

They finish with us at Bulldog. Bookends.

[OlDawg]

Ranking Region 3 5AD1 districts right now, I'd have to say:

1. 11-5A
2. 12-5A
3. 9-5A
4. 10-5A

But, I don't think the gap between 11-5A & 9-5A is as big as some may think. I put 12-5A ahead of 9-5A because of Weiss. But, 9-5A may actually have more depth. The BISD schools are the wildcards on the total depth of 9-5A.

[Austin1985]

51 minutes ago, OlDawg said:

Ranking Region 3 5AD1 districts right now, I'd have to say:

1. 11-5A
2. 12-5A
3. 9-5A
4. 10-5A

But, I don't think the gap between 11-5A & 9-5A is as big as some may think. I put 12-5A ahead of 9-5A because of Weiss. But, 9-5A may actually have more depth. The BISD schools are the wildcards on the total depth of 9-5A.

I my head, I think NC is deminished from West Fork being open but I have this theory about teams playing 6A dropping down.  After chasing the Woodlands and Willis for at least the last 4 years, they may be a wild card in this whole thing

[OlDawg]

DCTX has a good article about the best renewed/new rivalries after realignment. LP vs PAM is one of the Top 10.

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[OlDawg]

21 minutes ago, Austin1985 said:

I my head, I think NC is deminished from West Fork being open but I have this theory about teams playing 6A dropping down.  After chasing the Woodlands and Willis for at least the last 4 years, they may be a wild card in this whole thing

DCTX is predicting 12-5A as the toughest 5A district in the state. I'm not sold. Yes, they have 4 solid teams with Georgetown being added. But, I don't think the College Station teams are better than Randle, IC, or even Angleton.

Typical 6A teams dropping to 5AD1 isn't that big of a change. The Eagles have been hot & cold. Unknown to me.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

55 minutes ago, OlDawg said:

DCTX has a good article about the best renewed/new rivalries after realignment. LP vs PAM is one of the Top 10.

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Mr. Yates needs to edit it: we stopped playing after the 2015 season, then started back up in 2020. 

[OlDawg]

36 minutes ago, Mr. Buddy Garrity said:

Mr. Yates needs to edit it: we stopped playing after the 2015 season, then started back up in 2020. 

It was still a nice little blurb. Got me excited already. lol

I looked back through the records to get our 7-7. (I thought it was 8-8.) Overall against Port Arthur teams, La Porte has the edge. But, against PAM only, this will be the tiebreak year. Y’all took advantage of the LP down years between LaReau and Berneathy to catch up.

[Lightning/Eagle]

1 hour ago, Austin1985 said:

I my head, I think NC is deminished from West Fork being open but I have this theory about teams playing 6A dropping down.  After chasing the Woodlands and Willis for at least the last 4 years, they may be a wild card in this whole thing

Last year NC brought a freshman up to play QB a few games into the season. He did a solid job. The only question on him will be if he continues to play football. He is listed as the number 2 shortstop in the country in his class in some rankings.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

3 minutes ago, OlDawg said:

It was still a nice little blurb. Got me excited already. lol

I looked back through the records to get our 7-7. (I thought it was 8-8.) Overall against Port Arthur teams, La Porte has the edge. But, against PAM only, this will be the tiebreak year. Y’all took advantage of the LP down years between LaReau and Berneathy to catch up.

What's the record between Memorial and La Porte only? Or is that 7-7 it?

[OlDawg]

40 minutes ago, Mr. Buddy Garrity said:

What's the record between Memorial and La Porte only? Or is that 7-7 it?

I was wrong. I missed the LP win in 2012. LP leads all-time 8-7. But, y’all have won the more recent games. LP won in 2014. Then, we played on and off during LP’s coaching changes, and y’all have won 5 in a row.

It’s been a series of streaks with 7 point or less games in the middle. After y’all’s first win in 2011, LP won by 4 in 2012. Y’all won by 2 in 2013. LP won by 6 in 2014. Y’all won by 6 in 2015.

The other games have been wider margin wins by both teams.

LP has never played Lufkin or New Caney. But, they have a winning record against every other 9-5A team. The LP/PAM series is the closest.

[OlDawg]

Sean Simon - 2025 MaxPreps Sophomore All America Second Team RB

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Simon (RB), Peyton Smith (WR), and Josh Wells (QB) are all Class of ‘28.