Friendswood Mustangs vs Fort Bend Marshall Buffaloes - August 29, 2024

 Texas High School Football is BACK!!

    On Thursday, August 29, 2024, the Fort Bend Marshall Buffaloes hosted the Friendswood Mustangs at Mercer Stadium in Sugar Land. This was a non-district game and the season opener for both teams. It was great to see all the students back on the field and all the fans and student organizations in the stands on a humid Thursday evening. 

    First, as I said, this was the first game of the season and that was evident on all sides of the ball regardless of which uniform you were looking at, including the zebras. There were multiple false starts, missed catches, missed assignments, and uncertainty by the officials. Even with all the first game jitters, there were some moments of greatness on the field and I'm glad that the Mustangs won't have to face the Buffs again this season. 

    Conditioning seemed to be an issue. I saw a quote from Coach Johnson (yes, I broke my rule and read one article before writing my blog), commenting that he thought his team was better conditioned for 4 full quarters of football. While I did see some of this, I felt like the Mustangs were better prepared, physically, than the Buffs. I have to wonder if the new rules for conditioning in hot, humid weather played a factor in the number of cramps we saw as well as the struggle to maintain focus and intensity for the entire game. Another possible factor could be the way the calendar worked out this year. By the time football teams started their practices, teachers were already back at work. This means that the traditional two-a-day schedules were impossible. Perhaps the UIL and school districts (not specifically these two schools, but all schools) need to reevaluate their calendars to allow for more summer practices. There were multiple minor injuries and cramps during the game on both sides. One Buffs player did leave the stadium in an ambulance. He was able to stand, assisted, before being loaded onto the cart to be driven to the ambulance. We all wish him a speedy recovery with no lasting effects. 

    To start the game, Friendswood won the toss and elected to receive. This game had been billed as one where Friendswood would be overpowered on both sides of the ball and. I was expecting to see that as soon as the ball was kicked. Turns out, Friendswood was underrated by those making predictions. Friendswood was able to drive toward the end zone better than expected. Their first big problem, which was a problem all night, was when the Mustangs got within 5 yards of the goal line. Friendswood seemed to struggle all night getting those last few yards needed to put points on the board. 

    Friendswood ended up settling for a field goal and the defense took the field after the kick. The Mustang defense was also underrated. They showed everyone that they know how to stop the run. They also showed everyone that they will allow yardage on every pass, playing several yards off of the receiver until the ball is in the air or caught. I can only recall one pass by Marshall that was not caught because of a Mustang defender. This is something that has plagued the Mustangs for years and continues to be an issue. Hopefully that will improve before we play against Galveston Ball (yes, I saw what they did on Thursday night. Yikes) in 2 weeks.  Special teams is another group that showed that it was the first game. I'm not sure if they were in the wrong places or if they just don't have the speed that Marshall has. Marshall had no trouble returning kicks and while the kicker appears to be kicking exactly where he was told to kick, whoever told him to do that didn't have accurate scouting reports. 

    Overall, the Mustangs showed a potential to be a great team this year. Time will tell if they live up to their potential. The next game will be at Henry Winston Stadium on Friday, September 6, 2024 against Fort Bend Willowridge. Kickoff will be at 7pm. There will be no pre-game dinner this week. Gates will open at 6pm.

    Attaboys for this week go to: Winters, Bateman, Muecke, & Cain. Next week, I will do a better job of taking notes during the game will give more details and more attaboys.

GO MUSTANGS

	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	FINAL
Friendswood Mustangs	9	7	7	0	23
FB Marshall Buffs	0	7	13	7	27

    Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 45+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I continue to learn more about the game and strategies every week. My vocabulary may be lacking, but I know what I see and describe it as best I can.

Magnolia Bulldogs vs. Manvel Mavericks - October 20, 2023

     On Friday, October 20, 2023, the Manvel Mavericks hosted the Magnolia Bulldogs at Freedom Field. Entering this game, the Magnolia Bulldogs had a 5-1 record while the Manvel Mavericks held a record of 3-2. 

    I think I can honestly say that this is the first time I have ever seen a flea flicker on the first snap on the game. Manvel's flea flicker was successful and got the Mavericks to Magnolia's half of the field. My apologies to the Maverick who threw the second pass in that play. You deserve a big attaboy for that one. The Mavericks scored on their first drive and immediately gave their fans hope. After the touchdown, the Maverick defense took the field and continued their dominating ways. However, once the Maverick offense returned to the field, the Maverick offense that we've seen since game 3 showed up and our hopes began to sink.

    Throughout the game, the Maverick defense played smart, strong football. Despite this, the Magnoia offense has some very strong ball carriers. More than once, I saw their ball carriers drag multiple defenders who were trying to make a tackle. 

    During the second half, the Mavericks made a big change and brought in a new quarterback. I don't know where this kid has been all season, but I would love to know why he's just now playing QB. With what we saw Friday night, this young man should have been QB1 since week 3.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the QB position. On Friday night, this young man was wearing #4. If the roster on MaxPreps is correct, he is Senior WR Stephen Lewis. If anyone can confirm his identity, please let me know.

    Several Manvel Mavericks earned attaboys on Friday night. This week's attaboys go to Haynes (Welcome back), Corner, Robinson, Cooks, Charles, Edmonson, Wilder, Jones, Morgan, Carter, Thompson, Boone, Blanton, White, Demery, Holmes, Lewis, Caton, Wilder, and Fleming.

Boxscore                    1st    2nd    3rd    4th    Total
Magnolia Bulldogs     0       17      7        3        27
Manvel Mavericks     7        0        7       7        21

    Moving forward - I'm not sure what the players wear during practice but I would practice with all players wearing the same helmets and offense wearing a different color jersey than defense. Interceptions seem to be a bigger issue when the teams are wearing the same color helmets. I think it would help the quarterbacks to practice with the same color helmets. 

    There are 2 weeks left in the regular season for 2023. Below are the current district standings, thanks to Chris Walter, whose X (formerly twitter) handle is @walterca1107.

    Manvel still has Fulshear to play as well as Terry. The Maverick's next game will be at Fulshear on Friday, October 27, 2023, before closing out the regular season at Freedom Field against Terry on Thursday, November 2, 2023. In District 10-5AD1, only the top 4 teams will continue on into the playoffs. In a tie situation, Angleton would beat Manvel and Manvel would beat Friendswood because of the outcome of their regular season matchups.

Good luck to Manvel as they take on the Fulshear Chargers.

Hoka Hey!

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 40+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I continue to learn more about the game and strategies every week. My vocabulary may be lacking, but I know what I see and describe it as best I can.

Fulshear Chargers vs. Friendswood Mustangs - October 6, 2023

      On Friday, October 6, 2023, the Friendswood Mustangs hosted the Fulshear Chargers at Henry Winston Stadium for Homecoming 2023. It’s always sad to see a home team lose on homecoming, but the Mustangs can honestly say that the final score did not reflect the way they played the game. Fulshear is #1 is district right now and the reason was on full display.

     Friendswood put forth their best effort on Friday night and several players will be receiving attaboys later in this post. The was my first game in Friendswood this year & it felt so good to be in Henry Winston Stadium. While it was my first game in Friendswood, it wasn’t my first time seeing the Mustangs. Coach Johnson has put together a well disciplined team with good fundamentals.  That being said, Fulshear’s ball carriers are fast and their defense has the ability to be exactly where they need to be. Even when Friendswood was able to catch the Charger offense, the tackle was from behind and inside the 10 yard line (often inside the 5). To beat Fulshear, it will take a defense with an impressive front, a very fast secondary, and an offense that can throw, run, and keep the Charger defense guessing. 

     Multiple Mustangs deserve attaboys this week. The entire team played well. This week’s attaboys go to: Foster, Sindelar, Stamper, Buffington, Winters, Rouse, Postma, Skeele, Riasseto, Abebe, #27 (sorry, I didn’t catch your name), Slaughter, Allen, Ruffeno, Brister, & Rudolph. 

Box Score             1st         2nd         3rd         4th         Final

Fulshear                 22          17            8            14           61

Friendswood          7             7            7             8            29

     Next week the Friendswood Mustangs will travel to Waller ISD stadium to take on the BF Terry Rangers in more District 10-5A action.

Go Mustangs!

Kempner Cougars vs. Manvel Mavericks - September 29, 2023

      On Friday, September 29, 2023, the Manvel Mavericks hosted the Kempner Cougar at Freedom Field. This 4th week of district play was homecoming for Manvel High School. Coming in to this game, the Kempner Cougars had a record of 0-4, 0-2. The Manvel Mavericks entered the game with a record of 2-3, 1-2.

    Manvel looks to be a team that has found themselves on defense but is still struggling to find themselves on offense. 

     This was my face multiple times watching the Maverick offense trying to get going. They area trying lots of different people at running back and having success with multiple options. They are only having one quarterback throw the ball. Last night, he improved his interception stats to just 1 for the game (after throwing 3 per game for multiple games).

     Unfortunately, the official did not have his microphone on for the first half of the game and the announcer was not announcing penalties. Multiple times the officials moved the ball 10 yards or more with no announcement. And once again, I have to get on my soapbox. Regardless of how lopsided a game is or how disadvantaged one team seems to be, the officials are not helping anyone by not calling a fair game. What they do by ignoring penalties is reinforce bad habits. Those bad habits will continue and players will continue to break the rules until they are held accountable. And as for calling nonexistent fouls, those officials are teaching the players not to trust people in a position of authority and that they will be punished for succeeding. Officials should do their jobs to the best of their ability and nothing else. Call a fair game. Period
     One more soapbox item, but this time for play callers - are you aware of the definition of insanity? If not, it's repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Why oh why do play callers call the same play over and over knowing that it hasn't worked all night or even all season? This is not just a Manvel issue; it seems to be this way for every team. It is so frustrating to watch. But hey, if you want every coach in the state who watches your film to know that you will always run the ball up the middle on first down, regardless of how many yards you lose each time, then go right ahead. Just remember - insanity.

    The final score of the game shows how one-sided the game was. I applaud the Kempner Cougars for never giving up. They played all 4 quarters, regardless of the score. 

Box Score                1st   2nd     3rd      4th    FINAL
Kempner Cougars    0        0        7        0            7    
Manvel Mavericks   13      7        14      6            40

    Due to homecoming activities at halftime, the Manvel Maverick Marching Band performed their entire show after the game was over. I was impressed to see the football team and cheerleaders in the end zone during the performance, the Majestics in their section of the stadium cheering and the large number of parents in the stands who all stayed to cheer for the band. Marching bands are often ignored by everyone except band parents and it was so good to see everyone supporting them.

     This week's attaboys may have some mistakes, so please forgive me. I struggled to see some of the jersey numbers and am using maxpreps.com for names. If I made a mistake, I apologize. Attaboys for the game go to: Charles, Clerkley, Sweeting, Riggs, Cooks, Holmes, Carter, Caton, Blanton, Edmonson (punter, sorry, if I got your name wrong), Boone, Fleming, Palmo, Thompson, Hayes, Corner (41), Morgan, Norman, Martinez, Fuller, Holcombe, Powell, Stewart, Robinson, and the entire defensive front.

    Next week the Manvel Mavericks have a bye week. Their next game will be Saturday, October 14, 2023 against the Foster Falcons and Traylor Stadium.

Hoka Hey

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 40+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I continue to learn more about the game and strategies every week. My vocabulary may be lacking, but I know what I see and describe it as best I can.

Friendswood Mustangs vs. Manvel Mavericks - September 15, 2023

     On Friday, September 15, 2023, the Manvel Mavericks hosted the Friendswood Mustangs at Freedom Field. This is the second time since we started supporting both teams that they have faced each other. Because we support both teams and have season tickets for both, we decided that we will sit on the home side and cheer for the home team anytime they face each other. Which means that this year, we were on the home side of Freedom Field cheering on the Mavericks.

     Throughout the week, I had told multiple people that this week's game had the potential to be a very good game. The game did not disappoint. 

     Both teams are working under new head coaches. Friendswood's Jordan Johnson may be new to the HC position in Friendswood, but he is not knew the Henry Winston Stadium or FHS, being an FHS alumni who played under Coach Van Meter. Manvel's Kirk Martin is not new to Manvel, but I think he is new to Freedom Field. If memory serves, the first year for Manvel to play at Freedom Field was the year after Kirk Martin left. 

     Manvel has been trying to reinvent themselves since getting hit with multiple injuries during weeks 2 and 3. Friendswood began rebuilding last year after a disappointing finish to the season. 

     I think a big lightbulb finally went off for Manvel solving at least one big offensive problem. During the game, Dillon Boone was playing running back and was able to slip through and around the Mustangs offense. While the Mustangs' defense did not lay down and let the Mavericks run all over them, Dillon was able to find the gaps and spin out of tackles. He is an asset the Mavericks need to continue to reply upon.

     Friendswood also put a good offense on the field, but like Manvel, their offense seems to be mostly one dimensional. The most effective pieces of the Mustang offense was the passing game between Foster and Buffington. Abebe did sneak around the Maverick's defense to get open for a pass and score, but other than that one play, he didn't cause as many problems for the Mavericks' defense as Buffington did.

     As for defenses, the Mavericks' defense played just as solidly as they have all season and once they realized that they could sack Foster and cause him to make mistakes, they became relentless. The Mavericks' defense put pressure on the Mustangs' QB on every play. I don't keep stats, but I'm sure that the TFL numbers and sacks numbers for the Maverick's defense are both big numbers. And let's not forget Cooks' Superman sack. If you haven't seen that video, you need to check it out. I saw it on Dave Campbell's X (twitter) feed shortly after the game ended. That being said, the Mustangs' defense worked just as hard to capitalize on the Mavericks' offensive weaknesses - the passing game. 

     This game really could have gone either way. Last night in the last few minutes of the game, people around me who haven't seen as much Friendswood football as I have said that Manvel had the game if they could execute. Even with seconds left on the clock and the Manvel defense wreaking havoc on Friendswood's offense, I knew it wasn't' over. I have watched way too much Mustang football to count them out when they are within one score and have the ball. This game literally came down to the last play in the last seconds.

     Like I said, it could have gone either way. Manvel had more talent on the field, but they also make more mistakes added to the fact that the passing game is just not good. One of my favorite sayings is "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard." I still believe that, but sometimes it's not just talent and hard work. When the game is won or lost as a team, the teams must have all the necessary pieces. If the pieces don't appear naturally, sometimes they can be trained or cultivated. If Manvel is going to make it as far as they want this year, they are going to have to develop the players that they have to create a good passing game. If that means moving people around to different positions, then so be it.

     As for Friendswood's talent, they do have some, but similarly to previous years, they rely to heavily on a few people. Friendswood needs to develop the rest of the guys on the field if they are going to surprise everyone and be in the top 4 at the end of the season. 

     Because I cheer for both teams, this week's attaboys will go players in both white and red jerseys. Attaboys for Friendswood go to: Connor Stamper, Adam Buffington, Brock Foster, Mikey Butler, Kolton Postma, Jackson Slaughter, and Noah Abebe. Attaboys for Manvel this week go to: Avery Demery, Tyler Cooks, Kade Caton, Dillon Boone, and everyone who played defense in the second half.

Next week, Friendswood will travel to Traylor Stadium to take on the Foster Falcons in Rosenberg. Kickoff is set for Friday, September 22, 2023 at 7pm.
The Manvel Mavericks will also travel on Friday, September 2023. Their 7pm kickoff will be at Mustang Stadium in Magnolia against the Magnolia West Mustangs.

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 40+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I continue to learn more about the game and strategies every week. My vocabulary may be lacking, but I know what I see and describe it as best I can.

Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back!

 Welcome Back!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd written here until I logged on today. I've mentally written so many posts over the last few years, but never taken the time to type them out. 

I am still going to high school football games almost every Friday night, but now we are supporting two teams and are bouncing back and forth between the two (have season tickets for both) - the Friendswood Mustangs and the Manvel Mavericks.

There are lots of other things that have changed on the Houston area High School Football scene. Gone are the days where lots of local newspapers who wrote articles about all the games and the Houston Chronicle's website kept a site where anyone could check out up-to-date stats on the teams and individual players. And gone are the days where anyone could learn about any team for free with just a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. With the lack of articles not behind pay walls, the void is being filled with amateur, semi-pro, and professional reporters who discuss their observations and analysis on X (formerly twitter) and YouTube. There's some great info out there, you just have to know where to find it. What I haven't found yet is a replacement for the Chronicle's stats sheet. That was a great tool during must win games for the fans to know more about their team's opponent. By reading the stats, you could tell if the team preferred to pass or run the ball, as well as how a defense had been stacking up against their opponents. since that site is gone, I may have been the only person looking at it, but I sure do miss it.

Another change in the Houston area High School Football scene is the schools playing. There are sooo many new schools - schools that did not field a varsity football team when I last wrote my blog. I have seen a few of those team play, but that number is probably a minority of the new schools.

The last big change would be the coaching "carousel" as some of the sports writers call it. Both of the teams that we are supporting have new head coaches this year, though one of them is a returning coach while the other is a former player turned coach (who I actually got to see when he played in high school). 

This coming week, the two teams that we support will be playing against each other. The Friendswood Mustangs will travel to Iowa Colony to play the Manvel Mavericks at Alvin ISD newest district stadium - Freedom Field. This will be the 4th time I've seen Manvel play this season, but the first time to see Friendswood in person (though I have seen videos). The Mustangs have been playing very well this year and to simply look at the scoreboards, you might think that this game will be a blowout. However, those scoreboards don't tell the whole story. The caliber of teams that Friendswood and Manvel have been playing against are not the same. Manvel's schedule so far contained better teams than Friendswood's. This means that Manvel should be better prepared for the game against the Mustangs. It also means that both teams are susceptible to thinking that don't have anything to fear this week. Both teams will need to bring their A-game if they expect to walk out of Freedom Field with more points on their side of the scoreboard. 

Unfortunately for Manvel, they have been bitten by the injury bug more than any team I've heard of in the last several years. In 5 quarters of play (last quarter from one game through the last quarter of the next), I have seen 4 knee injuries, some more serious than others. These haven't been the only injuries, just the most obvious. These injuries have caused Coach Martin and the rest of the Mavericks to reengineer the offense and make changes on defense. Luckily for the Mavericks, they have the depth needed to cover for guys who are out temporarily, or even longer. But with the game plan having been focused on different styles of play, adjustments have been needed.

Friendswood on the other hand has tweaked their game as the season has progressed, but not due to injuries. They have been learning and improving each week, making adjustments to improve upon what they are already putting on the field. 

I've read and heard from a few people who believe that Friendswood is good, but Manvel is playing at a higher level. Having not seen Friendswood in person yet, it's hard for me to agree or disagree. What I can say is that Manvel has some serious talent on their team this year, but they also struggle with mental mistakes and finishing plays. I am hopeful that this week in practice, they will be able to focus on focusing and playing all the way to the whistle. The players need to remember that, regardless of what they do in practice, this is neither touch nor flag football. 

I am looking forward to a great game this week.

I no longer post play by plays during the game, but I do update the score at the end of each quarter. You can follow my updates at x.com/momrod2000

If you want to watch the game, Texan Live will be live streaming the game (for a fee). https://www.texanlive.com/video/64fb8fa52308880001edbaa2

I m looking forward to getting back to writing my blog and telling more people about these two great programs.

Disclaimer: My football education is from attending high school football games for 40+ years and sitting between my dad and my grandpa for the first 12 of those years. I continue to learn more about the game and strategies every week. My vocabulary may be lacking, but I know what I see and describe it as best I can.

UIL Football Classification, Districts, and Playoffs Setup

Warning: Long, but detailed post on how the UIL sets up classifications, districts and football playoffs.

     The UIL uses a set system for how high schools are classified and set into districts for UIL competitions/games.  There is also a set system for playoffs.  To the outsider looking in, this can be incredibly confusing.  Once you understand the systems, it makes perfect sense.  I will do my best to break it down for anyone wanting to understand the systems.
     First, the Texas University Interscholastic League (aka UIL or The UIL), uses each high school's enrollment to divide them into a classification; with 6A being the largest schools in the state and 1A being the smallest.
     First, the UIL determines how many schools will be in each classification.  These numbers are based on the number of high schools in the state who participate in UIL competitions (sports, fine arts, etc.).  Because some schools don't participate in every sport, these districts can be different from one sport to the next.  Sometimes, the UIL will announce these numbers in advance.
     In each odd calendar year, the superintendent of each district (or his designated representative) submits the enrollment of each high school campus on the last Friday in October (we are currently using the enrollment numbers from Friday, October 30, 2015).  This is how many students are enrolled that day, not the attendance.  The UIL has formulas for schools who do not house four grade levels or whose students participate in work-study programs.  Once these numbers are submitted, the UIL enters them into a spreadsheet and orders them with the largest school at the top and the smallest at the bottom.  They then go down the list until they reach the predetermined number of schools in 6A and draw a line.  Every high school above this line will be a 6A school.  Next, they do the same thing for the number of schools for 5A, draw the line, and everyone between the two lines will be 5A.  This continues to the bottom of the page.  Sometimes, the UIL will make these cutoff numbers public.  Since many school publicly announce their enrollment number on the UIL Snap Shot Day, at the time of the UIL's cutoff number announcement, many will know into which classification they will be grouped for the upcoming redistricting.
     Some schools may petition the UIL to change their classification.  There is a process for this, but I don't think I've ever seen it used in southeast Texas. (Edited to add:  La Marque discussed this one year and may have used it.  Houston ISD is reported to have used it also.)
     The next step is to create the districts.  These districts are based on classification and geography.  The UIL tries to keep all the high schools within a school district together, for example, all 5 of CCISD's high schools are in district 24-6A; and they try to keep travel times between schools within a district to a minimum.  Districts generally consist of 7 or 8 high schools.  If a school district has more high schools than that, their schools will be split among multiple districts.  The new districts will be announced in February of even calendar years and will go into effect at the beginning of school that same calendar year.  Districts are set for 2 year intervals.
     We are currently in the middle of the redistricting process.  Enrollment Snap Shot Day was Friday, October 27, 2017.  We are awaiting the official announcement of cutoff numbers, through many sports publications have already made their predictions.  In February, we will learn who will be in each district for the next 2 school years (starting in August of 2018).
FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS:
     If you are looking for information on playoffs in other sports, I'm sorry, I just don't know how similar or different they are to the football procedures.
     This information is true this year for 5A and 6A.  Next year, the rules for 5A will change.  So, for the 2017 football playoffs, here is the procedure. 
     At the end of the regular season, the teams in each district are ranked, with the team with the best win/loss record (for district games) at the top, and the team with the worst win/loss record at the bottom.  The top 4 teams in each district will be in the playoffs.  Of those 4 teams, the two teams with the largest enrollment (using October 2015's numbers) will go into the Division 1 (D1) bracket and the teams from the 2 smaller high schools will go into the Division 2 (D2) bracket.  In D1 and D2, the team with the better record will be considered the top seed.  The second team will be the second seed.  Neighboring districts will play each other with the top seed from each district hosting the second seed from the neighboring district.  The location of the game can be at the home stadium for the top seed team or a neutral site.  The winner of this game will move on to play the winning team from another local match up.  The way the brackets are set up, if the two teams from the same district win all their playoff games, they won't face each other until the fourth round of the playoffs.  Once a team loses, they are out of the playoffs.
     Example:
District Colorful-6A results
Team               Win  Loss  Enrollment (Oct. 2015)
Red                   7       0               2418
White                6       1               2275
Blue                  5       2               2358
Green                4       3               2479
Purple               3       4               2199
Orange              2       5               2501
Yellow               1       6               2413
Gray                  0       7               2251

Realistically, there will be ties, but for this example, I'm keeping it simple.  In this example, Team Red, White, Blue, & Green would make the playoffs.  Due to enrollment numbers, Red and Green would be D1 with Red being the top seed and Green being the second seed.  White and Blue would be in the D2 bracket with White being the top seed and Blue being the second seed.
Let's say the neighboring district is Animal-6A  Their end of season results were:
Team            Win  Loss  Enrollment (Oct. 2015)
Dog                7       0            2318
Cat                 6       1            2202
Horse             6       1            2459
Mouse            5       2             2640
Rabbit            4       3             2274
Moose            2       5             2365
Crocodile        1       6             3102
Bear                1      6             2385
   
     For this district, Team Dog, Cat, Horse, and Mouse would be in the playoffs.  Due to enrollment numbers, Mouse and Horse would be in the D1 bracket and Dog and Cat would be in the D2 bracket.  The top seed for D1 would be Horse and Mouse would be the second seed.  For D2, Dog would be the top seed and Cat would be the second seed.
      Since these are neighboring districts, the first round of the playoffs would be Mouse at Red, Green at Horse, Blue at Dog, and Cat at White.  Red, Horse, White, and Dog could play these games at their home stadiums, or they could be played at a neutral site.
   
     After the first round of playoffs, every game is held at a neutral site.  It is not unusual for coaches to talk to all the coaches they might face in the coming week or two to set up tentative sites and dates/times for playoff games. They don't want to do things too early, because that's more tentatives to work out, but too late and all the good stadiums are booked. 

     I hope all that is helpful.  If you have any questions, you can ask me or Google.  The UIL website has lots of information, but it can sometimes be hard to navigate.