Lake Travis faces a potential mine field in Region IV, most notably in the second round against Cibolo Steele. Here’s a look at the entire region. For those that don’t know, the winner of the region will play in the state semifinals for a berth to the state title game. Here’s our take on how the region shakes out.

No. 1 – Lake Travis (10-0)
The Cavs are the consensus favorite to win the state title, and anything less than a state title appearance would be a disappointment for head coach Chad Morris and staff. The obvious hurdle would be a second round date with Cibolo Steele.

No. 2 – Cibolo Steele (8-2)
Running back Malcolm Brown is just a junior, and after watching film, the Lake Travis coaching staff thinks he’s the best running back they’ve seen this year, and at the same level at Longview’s shifty Tyler McCray, who left last year’s state title game after injuring his ankle. As Brown goes, the Knights go. They haven’t been as sharp this season as they were in 2008, but they’re just as dangerous as a second round opponent.

No. 3 – Alamo Heights (7-3)
Heights had a chance to upset Steele in the final game of district play, but fumbled the snap on a two-point conversion attempt to win the game. The gamble was admirable, but also proved Steele to be pretty vulnerable, even with Brown rushing for 271 yards in that game. The Mules have come on strong late in the season, and it wouldn’t be surprsing to see them emerge from the other side of Region IV.

No. 4 – Killeen (8-2)
The ‘Roos are much better than they were last season when they finished second in the region to the Cavaliers in a 71-9 rout. This year’s 56-31 loss proved Killeen can hang with the big boys, it’s just a matter of keeping up over four quarters. Outlasting Hendrickson 34-27 was a positive step.

No. 5 – Flour Bluff C.C. (9-1)
Flour Bluff has the distinction of being the best team after 10 games from the Corpus Christi area. What that means from year to year is anyone’s guess. The competition is thin, but it still takes some considerable talent to win that many games. Most outlets have the Hornets as the third-best team in the region, but having seen the athleticism of Killeen, it’s hard to believe Flour Bluff has that kind of talent.

No. 6 – Gregory-Portland (8-2)
The same argument we make against Flour Bluff, we make against Gregory-Portland. Who are they playing? It’s a football program with a great tradition and marked consistency, but it suffers from a lack of serious competition.

No. 7 – S.A. Brackenridge (9-1)
On the other hand, we’re still giving Gregory-Portland the edge over Brackenridge, despite a better record. GP’s reputation precedes it, and unfortunately for Brackenridge, the same could be said about its reputation. The Eagles don’t ever play close with the powers from the San Antonio area, and were ranked sixth among sub-5A teams by The San Antonio Express-News even though they had a much better record on paper than Kerrville Tivy (5-4) and Clemens (6-3). That’s telling.

No. 8 – Mission (9-1)
What do we know about Mission? What do we know about any team from the valley? Not a whole lot, but we can assume that just like the Corpus area teams, these Eagles aren’t playing against a deep talent pool. But like any 9-1 team, they obviously know how to win. That means something.

No. 9 – Alice (7-3)
Remember the Coyotes and the thousands of fans they brought to the Alamodome last year? They haven’t been as good this year as last, but the strength of that 2008 squad tells us that the scheme and the execution of Alice make it a tough opponent. The Coyotes’ 32 points against Lake Travis were the most scored by any opponent last season.

No. 10 – S.A. Harlandale (8-2)
Harlandale didn’t even crack that San Antonio area sub-5A poll, and that says a lot about how many quality wins were in the eight that the Indians locked up. Which is to say, not many. They’re the last of a group of good region opponents, but don’t pose a threat as a region title contender.

No. 11 – S.A. Jefferson (6-4)
Everything you hear about the poor state of AISD 4A football programs can also be applied to the San Antonio 4A schools. Every year, you’re going to see a couple quality teams without much punch, and after that the records are deceiving at face value. As the DI runner-up in 28-4A, they should be better than 6-4 (5-2 in district play). But they’re not.

No. 12 – S.A. McCollum (6-4)
McCollum was the last team to make the playoffs out of 29-4A, DI or otherwise. That’s not good.

No. 13 – Mission Mem. V. (6-4)
Mission Veterans Memorial was the last team to make the playoffs in 32-4A, a valley district. That’s even worse than McCollum’s situation.

No. 14 – LBJ (5-4)
This hits a little closer to home for obvious reasons. The Jaguars play in the neighboring 26-4A district, but always seem to be marred by inconsistency. Last year’s squad included a handful of super-talented players that the Lake Travis staff would love to have on board. But they still lost by over 40 points. We feel for the Jags, but it doesn’t look good, especially with a first round date against Killeen, a team that has been pretty exceptional all year.

No. 15 – C.C. Ray (4-6)
We’re obviously skeptics of Corpus area schools, so Ray isn’t doing itself any favors by being the worst team to qualify out of 30-4A.

No. 16 – Crockett (4-6)
Crockett is bad enough that we wouldn’t hold it against Lake Travis if they used the week to prepare for likely second round opponent Cibolo Steele. You can say all you want about overlooking opponents, but the Cavalier junior varsity would probably top the Cougars.