District 9-5A D1 Thread 2026/2027

[OlDawg]

21 minutes ago, AggiesAreWe said:

The only flaw I saw with this stadium was the endzone seating. It's much too far from the playing field.

IMO, that seating is unnecessary. It would have been better to eliminate that seating and add to the 2nd decks on each side. But that would require moving back the press box.

That was the only complaint I heard from folks who went to the stadium last season and had to sit in endzone seats. Just too far from the action.

Yes. They're pretty far away because of the track. The stadium had to fit in the exact footprint as old Bulldog. That was all the land that could be had because the strip center owners wouldn't sell. Also, the stadium was built for more than just football. Track was one of the main uses as well. Those seats are perfect for the track events at that end. They've also hosted community movies on the big screen this summer, Veteran's celebrations, and a lot of other events where the endzone seating was actually advantageous. They said it would be for the entire community to use, and they've followed through on that promise. It's being used almost like an outdoor amphitheater for the town.

My understanding is the bands and drill teams are supposed to be in the horseshoe this year. I thought it was supposed to be that way last year. But, I don't think everything got coordinated that way due to some construction that was still ongoing, etc. We'll see if it happens that way this year. I think last year was still a learning experience with it not even being completely finished up before the season, and kinks were still being worked out.

Really, there's no reason to have to sit in the endzone most games if you don't want. I think The Border Battle and PNG were the only sellouts of the whole stadium last year. Even with PNG, there were still some seats available between the endzones.

[PackAttack]

With my district game discussion analysis I need to be careful to speak Lufkin each time when talking about the Panthers, because we are also LP (Lufkin Panthers) and La Porte is also LP. Things will be interesting when the two play at the end of district play with the LP LP LP LP stuff on both sides.  

It is interesting to sit here in Lufkin and read all the SETX fan analysis and predictions for 9-5A DI. I know many don't know a lot about Lufkin and that is okay, your not suppose to I guess. It's always interesting to read about the transfers to programs, Lufkin doesn't get many transfers, sometimes a kid from a 2A or 3A school will come in, the program is pretty much Lufkin kids.  I know there were some in SETX that did not want Lufkin in this district, then again when the UIL tried to put Lufkin way out in a district near Cleburne and Burleson, that was unacceptable too. Who wants to travel 8 hour round trips to play district games, plus those the sub-varsity trips on Thursday??  No one here wanted that and none of those teams there wanted to come to Lufkin. The same thought probably exist for most SETX teams and fans coming up to Lufkin. The UIL has no easy job finding proper placement for the Panthers, but for as long as I can remember there's lots of travel involved no matter where we land, and if you didn't know, there are only two 5A DI schools in all of East Texas, Lufkin and Tyler High, only two 6A schools, Longview and Tyler Legacy, all three of those schools must travel to the Metroplex for district games. Lufkin has been in 6 different combinations of 5A and 6A districts the last 20+ years, either up North w/ (North and West Mesquite/Forney/McKinney North/Lancaster/Longview/Tyler, Ennis, Corsicana, Lindale, Jacksonville, Whitehouse) or South (THW, Conroe/Waller/West Brook/ Mongomery/Magnoila/New Caney/Klein/Porter/Willis/Kingwood Park/ Tomball/College Station/AMC/Bryan/Cleveland/Montgomery), that's a lot of different district opponents and now in Region III with you guys, back with West Brook and New Caney. Lufkin has more continuous familiarity with our non district opponents Longview, Nacogdoches and Tyler High usually than any school we have played in all those seasons. Lufkin now starts season three in Region III, hopefully there's more realighnment stability for the Panthers in future. 

As for 9-5A DI in 2026, it's going to be some competitive football and I'm looking forward to see Lufkin taking on each challenge. Going to be interesting to see what growth Lufkin has made in their rebuilding process. The SETX teams seem to have a lot of pairity between them, there will be a many hard fought games and whoever makes the playoffs will earn their spot.

[OlDawg]

4 minutes ago, PackAttack said:

With my district game discussion analysis I need to be careful to speak Lufkin each time when talking about the Panthers, because we are also LP (Lufkin Panthers) and La Porte is also LP. Things will be interesting when the two play at the end of district play with the LP LP LP LP stuff on both sides.  

It is interesting to sit here in Lufkin and read all the SETX fan analysis and predictions for 9-5A DI. I know many don't know a lot about Lufkin and that is okay, your not suppose to I guess. It's always interesting to read about the transfers to programs, Lufkin doesn't get many transfers, sometimes a kid from a 2A or 3A school will come in, the program is pretty much Lufkin kids.  I know there were some in SETX that did not want Lufkin in this district, then again when the UIL tried to put Lufkin way out in a district near Cleburne and Burleson, that was unacceptable too. Who wants to travel 8 hour round trips to play district games, plus those the sub-varsity trips on Thursday??  No one here wanted that and none of those teams there wanted to come to Lufkin. The same thought probably exist for most SETX teams and fans coming up to Lufkin. The UIL has no easy job finding proper placement for the Panthers, but for as long as I can remember there's lots of travel involved no matter where we land, and if you didn't know, there are only two 5A DI schools in all of East Texas, Lufkin and Tyler High, only two 6A schools, Longview and Tyler Legacy, all three of those schools must travel to the Metroplex for district games. Lufkin has been in 6 different combinations of 5A and 6A districts the last 20+ years, either up North w/ (North and West Mesquite/Forney/McKinney North/Lancaster/Longview/Tyler, Ennis, Corsicana, Lindale, Jacksonville, Whitehouse) or South (THW, Conroe/Waller/West Brook/ Mongomery/Magnoila/New Caney/Klein/Porter/Willis/Kingwood Park/ Tomball/College Station/AMC/Bryan/Cleveland/Montgomery), that's a lot of different district opponents and now in Region III with you guys, back with West Brook and New Caney. Lufkin has more continuous familiarity with our non district opponents Longview, Nacogdoches and Tyler High usually than any school we have played in all those seasons. Lufkin now starts season three in Region III, hopefully there's more realighnment stability for the Panthers in future. 

As for 9-5A DI in 2026, it's going to be some competitive football and I'm looking forward to see Lufkin taking on each challenge. Going to be interesting to see what growth Lufkin has made in their rebuilding process. The SETX teams seem to have a lot of pairity between them, there will be a many hard fought games and whoever makes the playoffs will earn their spot.

Yes. The LP game will be LP epic! lol

I’ve talked to the SETX posters here about being confused sometimes when they speak about LP if they don’t clarify.

La Porte is LP because it’s the actual town name. 

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

1 LP mascot is a panther and the other one is a mutt, real easy to tell them apart 😁

[OlDawg]

15 minutes ago, Mr. Buddy Garrity said:

1 LP mascot is a panther and the other one is a mutt, real easy to tell them apart 😁

So says Marvin the Martian aka Tiny Titan.

[pakronos]

1 hour ago, PackAttack said:

With my district game discussion analysis I need to be careful to speak Lufkin each time when talking about the Panthers, because we are also LP (Lufkin Panthers) and La Porte is also LP. Things will be interesting when the two play at the end of district play with the LP LP LP LP stuff on both sides.  

It is interesting to sit here in Lufkin and read all the SETX fan analysis and predictions for 9-5A DI. I know many don't know a lot about Lufkin and that is okay, your not suppose to I guess. It's always interesting to read about the transfers to programs, Lufkin doesn't get many transfers, sometimes a kid from a 2A or 3A school will come in, the program is pretty much Lufkin kids.  I know there were some in SETX that did not want Lufkin in this district, then again when the UIL tried to put Lufkin way out in a district near Cleburne and Burleson, that was unacceptable too. Who wants to travel 8 hour round trips to play district games, plus those the sub-varsity trips on Thursday??  No one here wanted that and none of those teams there wanted to come to Lufkin. The same thought probably exist for most SETX teams and fans coming up to Lufkin. The UIL has no easy job finding proper placement for the Panthers, but for as long as I can remember there's lots of travel involved no matter where we land, and if you didn't know, there are only two 5A DI schools in all of East Texas, Lufkin and Tyler High, only two 6A schools, Longview and Tyler Legacy, all three of those schools must travel to the Metroplex for district games. Lufkin has been in 6 different combinations of 5A and 6A districts the last 20+ years, either up North w/ (North and West Mesquite/Forney/McKinney North/Lancaster/Longview/Tyler, Ennis, Corsicana, Lindale, Jacksonville, Whitehouse) or South (THW, Conroe/Waller/West Brook/ Mongomery/Magnoila/New Caney/Klein/Porter/Willis/Kingwood Park/ Tomball/College Station/AMC/Bryan/Cleveland/Montgomery), that's a lot of different district opponents and now in Region III with you guys, back with West Brook and New Caney. Lufkin has more continuous familiarity with our non district opponents Longview, Nacogdoches and Tyler High usually than any school we have played in all those seasons. Lufkin now starts season three in Region III, hopefully there's more realighnment stability for the Panthers in future. 

As for 9-5A DI in 2026, it's going to be some competitive football and I'm looking forward to see Lufkin taking on each challenge. Going to be interesting to see what growth Lufkin has made in their rebuilding process. The SETX teams seem to have a lot of pairity between them, there will be a many hard fought games and whoever makes the playoffs will earn their spot.

Bro I enjoyed my trip to Lufkin and that was pregame! It was my first time and it was bigger than I thought. I loved the visit and looking forward to it again. Last time it was a nice cool night. This time it’s gonna hot as hell

[AggiesAreWe]

2 hours ago, PackAttack said:

With my district game discussion analysis I need to be careful to speak Lufkin each time when talking about the Panthers, because we are also LP (Lufkin Panthers) and La Porte is also LP. Things will be interesting when the two play at the end of district play with the LP LP LP LP stuff on both sides.  

It is interesting to sit here in Lufkin and read all the SETX fan analysis and predictions for 9-5A DI. I know many don't know a lot about Lufkin and that is okay, your not suppose to I guess. It's always interesting to read about the transfers to programs, Lufkin doesn't get many transfers, sometimes a kid from a 2A or 3A school will come in, the program is pretty much Lufkin kids.  I know there were some in SETX that did not want Lufkin in this district, then again when the UIL tried to put Lufkin way out in a district near Cleburne and Burleson, that was unacceptable too. Who wants to travel 8 hour round trips to play district games, plus those the sub-varsity trips on Thursday??  No one here wanted that and none of those teams there wanted to come to Lufkin. The same thought probably exist for most SETX teams and fans coming up to Lufkin. The UIL has no easy job finding proper placement for the Panthers, but for as long as I can remember there's lots of travel involved no matter where we land, and if you didn't know, there are only two 5A DI schools in all of East Texas, Lufkin and Tyler High, only two 6A schools, Longview and Tyler Legacy, all three of those schools must travel to the Metroplex for district games. Lufkin has been in 6 different combinations of 5A and 6A districts the last 20+ years, either up North w/ (North and West Mesquite/Forney/McKinney North/Lancaster/Longview/Tyler, Ennis, Corsicana, Lindale, Jacksonville, Whitehouse) or South (THW, Conroe/Waller/West Brook/ Mongomery/Magnoila/New Caney/Klein/Porter/Willis/Kingwood Park/ Tomball/College Station/AMC/Bryan/Cleveland/Montgomery), that's a lot of different district opponents and now in Region III with you guys, back with West Brook and New Caney. Lufkin has more continuous familiarity with our non district opponents Longview, Nacogdoches and Tyler High usually than any school we have played in all those seasons. Lufkin now starts season three in Region III, hopefully there's more realighnment stability for the Panthers in future. 

As for 9-5A DI in 2026, it's going to be some competitive football and I'm looking forward to see Lufkin taking on each challenge. Going to be interesting to see what growth Lufkin has made in their rebuilding process. The SETX teams seem to have a lot of pairity between them, there will be a many hard fought games and whoever makes the playoffs will earn their spot.

I'll get to see Lufkin come Thursday in their scrimmage with Huntsville.

I'll be on the sidelines. Not making that awful climb up to that terrible press box. Hate that climb!

Was glad to see they will be building a new press box with an elevator. Been a long time coming.

[PackAttack]

1 hour ago, AggiesAreWe said:

I'll get to see Lufkin come Thursday in their scrimmage with Huntsville.

I'll be on the sidelines. Not making that awful climb up to that terrible press box. Hate that climb!

Was glad to see they will be building a new press box with an elevator. Been a long time coming.

Having a whole new stadium is something many have hoped to happen for years. Speaking of stadium steps,  I've had my 6 season tickets on the top row 40, on one end of the press box since 1995.  I'm hoping to be top row on the bottom level in the new digs in a couple years. No more climbing for us. LOL

[OlDawg]

I'll go ahead and take a wild guess at the PO teams. Of course, this WHAG is based on minimal to no major injuries for any team.

1. La Porte - The Dawgs return a ton of offensive firepower. Wells (QB) has the possibility of being the first, true dual threat QB LP has had since Austin Upshaw 2013-2017 (3 star, SMU, switched to WR & currently plays for the San Antonio Gunslingers). We'll see how LP decides to scheme the offense to take advantage of his skills. Pair him with the run game, and a solid kicking game, and LP will be tough to stop. Weakness: D youth. While athletic, I see this as--strangely for La Porte--the weaker part of the team.
2. PAM - Always athletic, and still return a solid core on D. QB status may be a question mark. But, the run game should be solid, and they always have speedy WR's. Will need to replace their outstanding kicker. If they returned a little more on O, I'd have them above La Porte because of the D. The two teams have opposite strengths this year, and the rivalry game is back on after a 2 year hiatus. Outside of the Border Battle, this is the top rivalry game for La Porte. Always a fun game. Last time they met in 2023, PAM won the battle, but La Porte won the war and the District Championship.
3. GCM - I'm gonna' have to go with a surprise here. This is my WOWZER pick for the district. Just too much returning experience to not take notice. If they can find a decent run game to go along with their returning QB, They can easily be in the PO picture.
4. Lufkin - I've always been an Abseck fan, and I like the returning D of Lufkin. Offense will be an issue. But, playing the last year at Abe should give them some added incentive. They have a favorable schedule for home field advantage against teams who are predicted by different people to be PO contenders. The game with GCM in Baytown may be a key game.

I see 1 & 2 as slight favorites over the rest of the district. I give La Porte the edge because PAM has to come to Bulldog. GCM and Lufkin can be interchangeable. But, with the experience of GCM, and playing Lufkin at home, I give them the edge. Really, these two spots could be up for grabs for multiple teams. I have a really hard time not seeing BWB in the top 4. But, I think they'll fall just short. I think--while they have excellent QB play--they just don't have quite enough to go with him on O, and the D will be replacing a lot. New Caney is a total wildcard to me. They could upset the whole enchilada.

I initially was going to go with the teams with returning QB experience. But, PAM & Lufkin's defenses should play a very big part early. I'm going with that strength over the--strictly--QB experience factor because of that. 

I think we will be discussing tiebreak procedures for PO spots for this district, and I have a hard time seeing anyone going undefeated in district play.

Anyway...as I said, just my early WHAG with a wildcard.