Marble Falls faces familiar foes in new districts

The Marble Falls High School athletics department will continue to play some of its same traditional adversaries in new regions beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

That’s because the University Interscholastic League, which released realignment for its member schools at 9 a.m. Feb. 2, announced that the Marble Falls (1,172 students) football team along with Burnet (985), Lampasas (1,137) and Stephenville (1,076) will remain in the same district but move regions.

In addition, the four will play China Spring (931) and Jarrell (1,147) in District 12-4A Division I, which is in Region III. Brownwood (877) dropped to Class 4A Division II.

“It’s a little surprising going back to Stephenville again just because of the change with Brownwood dropping,” Marble Falls athletic director and football head coach Keri Timmerman said. “And so we didn’t anticipate that. But there’s a little similarity, obviously. with keeping Stephenville, Lampasas and Burnet and throwing in Jarrell – we’re familiar with them. I just looked at it and said, ‘All right, let’s get to work.'”

The Mustangs have played Jarrell in non-district play the last couple of years. Stephenville won the 2025 Division I state title and China Spring won the state title in 2022.

“They’re good football teams,” Timmerman said. “So I think it’s a strong district. China Spring just kind of replacing Brownwood – that adds a little bit of extra. You better be on your game every week because you’re playing several top 10 teams and returning state champion and powerhouses there.”

Last year, District 4-4A Division I, of which Marble Falls, Burnet, Brownwood, Lampasas and Stephenville were members, captured four bi-district titles. That’s why Timmerman believes a strong district prepares squads to make playoff runs.

“Getting out of district and into the playoffs is a big deal,” he said. “And once you do, all bets are off. You’ve gone through a gauntlet. A perfect example is a team like Burnet that got on a run and gets to the second round. I think a lot of that has to do with playing teams like Stephenville and playing teams like Brownwood. I just feel like they get your kids ready.”

Class 4A football has 205 members and 105 are in Division I. Enrollment numbers for Division I are 896 to 1,304.

On the volleyball and basketball courts, Marble Falls will continue to play Burnet, Georgetown Gateway, Jarrell and Lampasas in district play. But in addition to welcoming Lago Vista, they will all be in District 25-4A in Region IV. Salado will stay in District 24-4A but with new members and Taylor went to District 26-4A.

“I think that there’s a lot of similarity in the district, which is good,” the athletic director said. “We see the same people we’ve seen, so we kind of know what to expect — that’s always good — but I think that having Lago in our district is a great addition for us because of the idea of playing someone a little closer to us and having a little rivalry there. I think there’s a little more parity in that district than what could have been expected. It’s always good to play some good competition before you get to the playoffs in your sport.”

Class 4A has 221 schools playing basketball and 222 schools playing volleyball. The cutoff numbers for Class 4A are 550 to 1,304 students.

While the districts may not have gotten easier, Timmerman said those who have success obtain it because they embrace what it takes to earn it.

“The hard thing for people to understand … (that) it really comes down to what are you doing with your kids to prepare them and your coaches and what kind of attitude do you take into that? How do you approach it from the spring?” he said. “We’re going to present it to the kids and we’re going to talk to them about what do we have to do now to get our goals. What are the things we do from now until August to get us ready to do that?

“We’re excited about the challenge,” he added. “I feel like it’s going to be a good time for us to kind of measure our growth. What you really are excited about is the opportunity we get to compete against some of the best in the state.”