Last Friday morning, the University Interscholastic League announced the new district alignments for all classifications of high schools in Texas. San Saba was moved from District 6-2A to District 8-2A. Parents and coaches welcomed the new district because gone are the long road trips to Ballinger, Wall, Grape Creek and Tuscola. Each of them required a trip of over 100 miles just to get to the game. Coleman, Early and Bangs stayed in the district with the Armadillos. Newcomers to the district are Brady, Comanche and Dublin. With the new district alignment, the longest road trip to a game is now just 80 miles and that is to Coleman.

Taking a look at the other schools in the district reveals some interesting facts. First is the Bangs Dragons who were 5-5 last year just missing the playoffs. San Saba won 18 of the first 20 games against the Dragons with the last win in 1994. Bangs has won the last 11 meetings between the schools. San Saba still leads the overall series 18-12-1

The Brady Bulldogs have not faced the Armadillos on the gridiron since 1997. Brady lost in the first round of the playoffs last year to Kermit ending the season with a 5-6 record. The Bulldogs have a commanding 47-17-1 against San Saba over the years. The last time Brady was in the same district with San Saba was in 1977 and the UIL only had 4 classes. The UIL went to the 5 classes we know now after the 1977-1978 school year. The last time San Saba defeated the Bulldogs was 1994.

The Coleman Bluecats have a 4-game winning streak against San Saba with the last Armadillo win in 2003. The Bluecats lost in the third round of the playoffs to finish at 10-3 last year. San Saba still has a slight edge in the overall series, leading 14-13-1.

The Comanche Indians have little history with San Saba. The schools have played each other as far back as 1916 but have only faced each other 26 times over the years. Comanche has a 13-11-2 edge overall. The Dillos last beat the Indians in 1973 but only 6 games have been played since, in 1974, 1975, 1984, 1985, 2000 and 2001. The last 2 were district games. Comanche is coming off a season that saw them go winless in all 10 games.

The Dublin Lions have not seen the Armadillos since 1993. They were district opponents then. Dublin won the 1993 game but San Saba won in 1992. The Armadillos have a 9-6 lead in the overall matchup. Dublin went 6-4 last year finishing 4th in their district.

Finally is the Early Longhorns, who were state semi-finalist last year, ending the season at 10-4. Early has a 7-game winning streak going. San Saba last defeated the Longhorns in 1996. San Saba has the overall lead at 15-8.