Projected Playoff Teams:
Trinity, South Grand Prairie, Dallas Jesuit, Hurst Bell

Vitals:

    
    Year in and year out, this district produces as much talent as any in the state and this year is no exception.  Unfortunately for the rest of the district, the vast majority of that talent can be found at Trinity High.

    After coming ever so close to being the first team to beat Southlake Carroll before the state finals, Euless Trinity returns with one of the most promising teams in school history.  The Trojans return no less than 13 key players from last year’s outstanding squad including RB Tray Robinson, 3 All-District offensive linemen, 3 All-District defensive linemen, and 3 starters in the secondary.  The only question mark for the Trojans is at QB, but with such a strong line and such good backs, the inexperience at QB shouldn’t hinder their district title plans at all.

    South Grand Prairie is a program that can be counted on to field a quality, talent-rich, competitive squad each year, and this year’s team, although young, should be very, very good.  The Warriors return 5 All-District players including DE Justin Williams and DB Thomas Ferguson.  SGP has a ton of young offensive skill talent including dual-threat QB Ryan Campos as well as WR’s Will Adams and DeWayne Peace.  By playoff time, SGP should be extremely dangerous.

    The Blue Raiders of Hurst Bell should find themselves in playoff contention again this year.  Bell returns one of the top returning rushers in the Metroplex, RB Deante Piper.  Piper rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 12 TD’s last fall.  Bell will need to find more offense, however, as they averaged less than 20 ppg last fall.

    The rest of the district looks like a toss-up.  Jesuit has the best chance to emerge from the pack and claim the final playoff spot.  The Rangers were very young on defense last fall and went through some growing pains, but they should be all the better for it this time around.  If Jesuit can find consistent offense, they may even be able to move into the top three.  RB/DB Kyle Miller, Jr. OT Eric Tausch, and Jr. OT Brandon Haynes are three of the best in the district. Senior DL Michael Brooks (6'4 255) is the top college prospect on the team.

    Grand Prairie also looks to have a good shot at making the postseason with players like DE Cory Brown, Jr. DL Prestin Brown, CB Ahmon Allen, and WR Greg Brown.  The Gophers struggled mightily after a promising 3-1 start last fall, so it will be interesting to see if they can get back on track.

     The Irving schools, although returning plenty of lettermen, could very well end up rounding out the bottom three spots in the district.  Nimitz was very young last fall, but that group managed a paltry 8.5 ppg.  The Vikings do return 4 All-District performers and 38 lettermen including some promising young talent and if they can manage some offense, they could work their way into contention.

     MacArthur managed just a 2-5 district record last fall despite having one of the state’s most electrifying players in QB Ron Brooks.  The Cards return 41 lettermen from last fall including RB David Wesley, but they appear to have a lot of work to do in order to contend.

     The Irving Tigers were one of just 7 winless teams a year ago and only came within single digits of two teams.  The Tigers return RB/DB Chucky Jones and the immensely talented LB Demarius Washington, but they’ll need a lot of help from their younger guys to work their way back into the mix.