Tigers move into new neighborhood after drop to 2A
By Tim Emmons
The University Interscholastic League released the cutoff numbers for conferences and football classifications a couple of weeks ago and the scrambled result has Linden-Kildare dropping down to 2A Division 1.
This year the UIL will shake things up even more when they re-district football teams for the 2016-2017 seasons on Feb. 1.
A “snapshot” was taken back on Oct. 30, and the attendance at L-K High School was tracked over the course of a year and sent to the Texas Education Agency in June.
A Snapshot or School District Profiles is a Texas Education Agency product that provides an overview of public education in Texas for a particular school year. In addition to state-level information, this website contains a profile about the characteristics of each public school district.
When the dust had settled L-K’s 212 attendance number fell nine students below the lowest 3A number. Here are the UIL cutoff numbers for conferences: Class 6A: 2150 and above; Class 5A: 1100 – 2149; Class 4A: 480 – 1099; Class 3A: 221 – 470; Class 2A: 105 – 220; Class 1A: 104.9 and below.
The conference cutoffs for football are: Class 6A: 2150 and above; Class 5A: 1100 – 2149; Class 4A, Division I: 723 – 1099; Class 4A, Division II: 480 – 722; Class 3A, Division I: 319 – 479; Class 3A, Division II: 221 – 318; Class 2A, Division I: 158 – 220; Class 2A, Division II: 105 – 157; Class 1A, Division I: 59- 104.9; Class 1A, Division II: 58 and below.
L-K AD and head football coach Gary Schultz had this to say about the expected change.
“We knew it was a possibility with our declining numbers but at the same time we feel it gives us an opportunity to be more competitive with schools that will be around the same size as we are,” Schultz said. “By no means is it going to be a cake walk because the teams that are established here are tough, but we feel if we work hard enough coupled with our athleticism it will be a good, competitive match for us each week.”
Schultz also pointed out that after being one of the smallest schools in 3A, being a large 2A school will still have its perks.
“We were playing teams with more kids than we had and with our numbers many of our players if not all of them were playing both ways the entire game,” Schultz remarked. “Now we will be playing teams which will have the same disadvantages as we do at times and the same strengths as we do.”
With the drop Schultz had to change the schedule he had worked out already.
“It’s speculation that we will be in a district with Simms, Union Grove, Big Sandy, Hawkins and Carlisle,” Schultz said. “With Hughes Springs moving up the landscape will change a bit but since I had a few of the teams scheduled for pre-district games that may be in our district I’m now looking for another to fill a spot open.”
Rivercrest and New Diana is still a possibility as well to be in the mix, but the UIL will figure it out and let us know in a few months.
Schultz still has DeKalb, Maud, Clarksville and Queen City on the schedule but has one slot open.
“I’m trying to fill the one spot left open and we’ll be waiting to see who we will be playing against for the next couple of years,” Schultz stated.
The cutoff could work to L-K’s advantage and open up doors that were once closed.
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