For the first time in a decade, Smithson Valley is heading to Class 5A.

Every two years, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) plays a massive game of musical chairs with high schools across the state. They divide hundreds of institutions into six classifications based on enrollment, geographically divide those six classifications into four regions apiece and then divide those four regions into districts based on a number of factors.

To put it another way, realignment is like trying to solve a massive puzzle, if several pieces had ill-fitting edges and others were missing altogether. There isn’t a “correct” way to lay out the map; rather, the UIL tries to be as fair as possible to as many schools as possible.

For years, Smithson Valley was a mainstay in Class 6A, competing with a group known as the ‘Little SEC.’ That group included Judson, New Braunfels, Steele and more. But the opening of Pieper High School this fall changed everything.

Every other year, schools submit their enrollment figures to the UIL. In the last realignment cycle, Smithson Valley submitted an enrollment number of 2,768.5, which was among the highest in the state. But this cycle was different. With a brand-new campus draining freshmen and sophomores from its student body, the school submitted a drastically lower figure of 2,086, well below the Class 6A cutoff number of 2,225.

With that announcement on Feb.3 , the inevitable became a reality: for the first time since Class 6A was created back in 2014, Smithson Valley wouldn’t be a part of the state’s highest classification.

It’s a more significant change than it might seem on the surface. Not only are the Rangers leaving their old district, but they’re about to join two new ones – below Class 6A, football districts are split into divisions, making them distinct from every other sport.

On the gridiron, the Rangers will join District 12-5A-1, which consists primarily of schools between the San Antonio and Austin areas. There are longtime rivals – fellow Comal ISD member Canyon, current 27-6A foe Wagner – and brand-new faces, such as Seguin (zero all-time games against Smithson Valley).

Competitively, three schools stand out above the rest. Wagner didn’t find much success in Class 6A the past two years, but made the Class 5A Division I state semifinals in 2018 and 2019. Boerne Champion is coming off consecutive second-round playoff losses to perennial title contender Liberty Hill, but made the Class 5A Division II state semifinals in 2019. And despite missing the playoffs in 2021, Buda Hays is just a year removed from a state semifinal appearance in Class 6A Division II.

Outside of those three, there’s not a clear theme among the rest of the district. MacArthur is 1-29 since their last district win in 2018, and Kyle Lehman hasn’t had a winning season since 2011. Seguin, meanwhile, ended a 12-year playoff drought with three consecutive postseason appearances under former coach Travis Bush, but hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1980s.

And then of course there’s Canyon. The Cougars dropped to Class 5A one cycle before Smithson Valley after the opening of Davenport High School, to mixed results. After finishing 10-2 in 2020, head coach Joe Lepsis resigned. To replace him, the Cougars brought in – drumroll, please – former Seguin coach Bush, who led the team to a fifth-place finish in his first year at the helm.

Beyond the district itself, football will compete in Region 3, which includes schools spanning from Austin to Houston. Arguably the toughest region in Class 5A Division I, the road to a state semifinal appearance would likely have to go through powerhouses such as Frisco Lone Star, Manvel, College Station A&M Consolidated and more.

Outside of football, Smithson Valley will compete in District 26-5A with football rivals Champion, Canyon, Wagner and Seguin, plus Pieper, Veterans Memorial and Kerrville Tivy. The district is located in Region 4, a district which runs from Buda to Corpus Christi to Brownsville, and everywhere in between.

Among 26-5A schools, Champion has had by far the most recent success, sporting high-level teams in boys basketball (24-6, 11-2), girls basketball (25-6, 12-2), girls soccer (23-4, 13-3 in 2021) and swim, and playoff-contending teams in baseball, softball, boys soccer and volleyball.

But that success, particularly in girls basketball, won’t be isolated. Between Champion, Canyon (25-6, 14-1) and Wagner (19-10, 10-2), the district could be among the best in the state. And the talent isn’t just concentrated at the top – Veterans Memorial and Tivy earned playoff berths in 2021, and Pieper is 8-2 in exhibition games this season.

With a new district in the GPS, the Rangers are leaving their longtime opponents in the rearview mirror. With three teams dropping to Class 5A, 27-6A will become a rare six-team district, composed of five incumbents and prodigal son San Marcos.

With less than a semester remaining in the school year, the Rangers find themselves staring down the barrel of their final season in Class 6A. Soccer, baseball, track and field and more will have one final shot to make an impact on the state’s largest classification.

And then, it’ll be time for the future.