District 4-5A DI
Denton Ryan
Birdville
Colleyville Heritage
Grapevine
Carrollton Creekview
Denton
Carrollton Smith
Carrollton Turner
Denton Ryan Poised to Make Another Run
If there's any district in the Metroplex worth watching this year, it'll be 4-5A Division I. Three of the playoff teams from last year - Denton Ryan, Birdville, Grapevine - made it to at least the third round of the playoffs with Denton Ryan getting all the way to the state semifinals before falling to eventual state champ Highland Park.
Denton Ryan is as talented as ever heading into 2019, led by the Oklahoma-committed athlete Drew Sanders. Ryan checks in at third in our preseason 5A Top 10 rankings and have gone 42-3 in the last three seasons. With 13 starters and 35 lettermen returning, Ryan is in the enviable position of taking district and making another deep run. Quarterback, running back and wide receiver has returning talent in all spots to be able to pick up right where it left off last year - averaging 42 points a game.
Birdville's season ended in the regional finals against Denton Ryan after having gone 12-1 to that point. Coach Lon Holbrook returns 11 starters to this year's team - 20 lettermen. Quarterback Stone Earle is back after a nice 2018 campaign saw him pass for more than 2,700 yards and 31 touchdowns along with 2,000-yard rusher Laderrious Mixon. On defense, Birdville has a solid core in linebacker Nick Martinez and defensive back Hosea Armstrong. Martinez tallied 144 tackles last year and could easily be the defensive MVP at year's end.
After a down year, Colleyville Heritage brings back 12 starters - but only four on offense - from a year ago in hopes of returning to double-digit wins. Offense will have to find its way early, so the defense will be heavily relied upon this year, led by Trent Ayers, Brayden Gerlich, Taylor Steele and Isaac Shabay.
It's not often a team that goes 10-3 and makes it to the regional semifinals is looked at as a sleeper team, but that's precisely the case for Grapevine this year. Only nine starters return from last year's team that made it to the third round for the first time since the school won state in 1998. Like Heritage, Grapevine only brings back four offensive starters but even less so on defense, so both sides of the ball will be a work in progress early on and need time to gel. But banking off the success this year, Grapevine could be the wild card come district play this year.
VYPE Preseason Awards
MVP: ATH Drew Sanders, Denton Ryan
Offensive MVP: QB Stone Earle, Birdville
Defensive MVP: FS Jack Cunningham, Grapevine
Breakout Player of the Year: RB Caleb Texada, Grapevine
Sleeper Team: Grapevine
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