By Jeremy A. Corley

Managing Editor

The University Interscholastic League announced the results of its biennial realignment Monday, with Van Alstyne set to see many fewer changes in its current schedule than Howe.

Van Alstyne

The Panthers will remain in District 10-3A with Anna, Bonham and Commerce but will trade Paris and Paris North Lamar for Celina. The Paris schools will join District 15-3A with Atlanta, Mount Vernon, Texarkana Liberty Eylau and Texarkana Pleasant Grove.

Van Alstyne's new five-team district still will have three allotted playoff spots.

"I think it's good that we're in there with some familiar people," VAISD Athletic Director Mikeal Miller said. "I'm pleasantly surprised -- it could have been a lot worse for us."

Celina has knocked Van Alstyne out of the playoffs each of the last two seasons, but Miller said the Bobcats would be a beneficial district foe for his program.

"It's always fun to play people who are traditionally good and find a way to beat them," he said. "I think our kids are ready for a big challenge."

The student population range for Class 3A was 430-979 during the UIL's most recent realignment. The range was increased to 430-989 for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years.

VA's high school enrollment number for realignment was 439, which will keep the Panthers as the smallest school in their district. The largest enrollment number in the new district was Celina's 558, however, far from the nearly 900 students at each of the Paris schools.

Miller said the similar numbers among the district schools will help with sub-varsity games.

"You get into situations sometimes where another school has 50 kids on its freshman team," he said. "We've had games recently where the other team had 40 kids playing one way and our kids never came off the field. With a district where everyone is within 100 kids or so of each other, that disparity helps."

The longest distance to a district opponent for Van Alstyne will be the trek to Commerce, which is less than 50 miles. Each of the other schools is 30 miles away or closer.

Howe

The Bulldogs will have a little more travel on their schedule starting in the fall.

During football season, Class 2A will be split into two sections, Division I for larger schools and Division II for smaller schools. Howe will join Division I District 5 along with Boyd, Callisburg, Paradise, Ponder and Pottsboro.

Pottsboro will be Howe's shortest drive at less than 25 miles, while the longest road trip for the Bulldogs will be Paradise at about 90 miles away.

Howe's enrollment number for realignment was 298, meaning the Bulldogs will be the smallest school in their new district. The largest school will be Callisburg, with an enrollment of 352.

While Howe's district size will shrink from eight teams to six, the district's number of playoff berths in football also will shrink from three to two.

Of Howe's seven current district opponents, only Melissa will remain in the same classification as the Bulldogs. The Cardinals will join District 7.

Bells, Gunter, Leonard, Tom Bean and Whitewright all will play in 2A Division II, while Honey Grove will drop to Class A.

In basketball, Howe's district will shift again, growing to a much more geographically friendly eight teams with three playoff berths up for grabs. Joining Howe in District 11-2A will be Bells, Callisburg, Gunter, Pottsboro, S&S, Tom Bean and Whitewright.

Callisburg will represent the Bulldogs' farthest district opponent, with all the other schools within 30 miles of Howe.

In basketball, Howe's enrollment will place the Bulldogs in the middle of the pack.

The largest school will be Callisburg, while Whitewright will be the smallest with 236 students.

"We feel pretty good about what we're doing," said Howe Athletic Director Cory Crane. "Travel will be a little bit of an issue, but it will be that way for lots of teams. All in all, we feel pretty good about it."

He said he thought his team could compete for one of the two playoff berths in football.

"You always want to have three playoff berths because it gives more kids a chance to play, but we think we have a shot and we're going to try to go take it."

Crane said he was pleased with the basketball district.

"We've been in that district before," he said. "There's nothing really new -- we feel good about that district.

"We've got to show up and play either way. We're going to go play."

The student enrollment range for Class 2A did not change from the last realignment, staying at 200-429.