Under the Microscope: 5A DII District 5

DFW Offseason - Week Eight

5A DII District Five is headlined by Aledo and Mansfield Timberview. A former NFL quarterback is the head coach at another school in this district and his son is their quarterback. District Five should be full of storylines this fall. Let’s take a look at each individual team before we get to my player and team to watch!

Aledo Bearcats

Aledo dropped its opening game by three against Denton Guyer last season. The Bearcats reeled off 15 straight wins after that en route to another state championship. Aledo loses quarterback Jake Bishop along with Alabama signee Jase McClellan and Utah signee Money Parks. Despite plenty of question marks on offense, Aledo is returning wide out and LSU commit Jo Jo Earle. Defensive end Chris Wright is back as is cornerback DeMarco Roberts. Safety and LSU signee Bryan Allen Jr. is back to anchor the secondary as well. The pieces are there for another state championship run, but the Bearcats will need to fill some question marks, especially at the quarterback position.

Arlington Seguin Cougars

Arlington Seguin struggled in 2019. The Cougars finished just 1-9 with the lone win coming over Cleburne. Seguin finished 1-5 against teams in its new district and will need to improve on that record in order to make the playoffs. Running back Jalen March is back to help lead the offense. Juniors Xavion Brice and Seth Clay-Johnson figure to play a big role on offense as well.

Burleson Elks

Burleson finished with a 6-4 record in 2019 but failed to make the playoffs after losing four of its last five games. The Elks bring in a new coach and a familiar face in the metroplex. Former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna is the new face of Burleson football and his kid is following in his footsteps at quarterback. Jalen Kitna is a three-star recruit with power five offers and will play his senior season at Burleson.

Cleburne Yellow Jackets

Cleburne is another team that started strong before fading late in 2019. A promising 4-0 start dissipated in district play as the Yellow Jackets finished just 1-5 and failed to make the playoffs. Cleburne’s three district wins came against teams that are in the new district, so the Yellow Jackets should have playoff aspirations in 2020.

Everman Bulldogs

Everman finished 2019 with a 4-7 record and first round playoff loss to a strong Red Oak team. The good news is that all four of Everman’s wins came against teams that the Bulldogs will face in district play this year. Juan Davis is a Texas commit and will be back to lead the offense while Davonte Biscoe is back in the secondary. Everman should look to improve on its record from a year ago.

Mansfield Timberview Wolves

Mansfield Timberview finished the 2019 season with a 6-5 record after a tough opening round loss to Frisco Independence. A rough 0-2 start was bookended with an 0-2 finish, but that 6-1 stretch in the middle of the schedule looked nice. The Wolves are in a completely new district now after moving down from DI. The Wolves are returning a ton of talent along the offensive line and defensive end and Oregon commit Terrell Tilmon is back as well. Timberview figures to push for the district championship in 2020.

Joshua Owls

Joshua finished just 1-9 a year ago with the lone win coming against Arlington Seguin. Wide receiver Noah Smith is back and figures to play a big role on offense. The Owls have a long way to go before a playoff appearance is in the cards- but they’ll look to improve their record this season.

Waco University Trojans

Waco University finished 4-6 a year ago with wins over Joshua and Arlington Seguin. We’ll see if they can improve that record in 2020.

Team to Watch

My team to watch is the Mansfield Timberview Wolves. Aledo will have a worthy district challenger in Mansfield Timberview and the Wolves are returning enough talent on both sides of the ball to take a district championship away from the Bearcats. I still think Aledo is the favorite, but I wouldn’t sleep on Mansfield Timberview. I will have my eyes on the Wolves this fall.

Player to Watch

My player to watch is Burleson quarterback Jalen Kitna. Burleson is looking to return under Kitna’s leadership. Kitna is fresh off a commitment to the University of Florida last week and can now focus on his senior season with his recruitment out of the way. It always helps having dad on the sidelines as head coach, and Kitna has an even bigger advantage as his dad is a former NFL QB. Keep an eye on Kitna and the Burleson Elks this fall.