2022 Top 10 Most Difficult Schedules
Looking at the best overall schedules and the best non-district lineups
If you’ve already read our Top 5 District Races to Watch, you may have already guessed at some of the teams will appear in this feature (If you haven’t read it…go check it out). Below we’ll take a look at the teams with the most difficult overall schedules and we’ll also look at those who’ve gone out of their way to challenge themselves in their non-district contests. These are listed in order of average opponent Elo rating according to our model…
Topping the entire state with the most difficult schedule, by a healthy margin, are the Allen Eagles. Not only do they play in the best top-to-bottom district in the state of Texas, they’ve gone out and scheduled the #3 ranked non-district schedule, according to our rankings below. Allen has been a consistently elite program for nearly two decades and they have done it while playing a great schedule nearly every year.
Because 5-6A is so strong, four of Allen’s district mates also appear on our list above. McKinney Boyd has the #2 ranked schedule in the state, by virtue of them having to play Allen, Guyer, and Prosper in district and because they added Longview and Byron Nelson in non-district. Boyd has been a program on the rise, but this schedule combined with some heavy graduation losses makes for quite a hill to climb. Cross-town rivals McKinney along with Prosper and Braswell also appear in the Top 10.
Atascocita at #3 is no stranger to top competition. The Eagles again have to navigate the treacherous path in 21-6A, but they didn’t settle there, adding Dickinson and Katy in non-district. Coach Stump’s Eagles have proven to have absolutely no fear of playing anyone anywhere and they’ve benefitted from those experiences. It’s no coincidence that Atascocita is one of the top programs in Houston and in the state. Fellow 21-6A teams West Brook, CE King, and Humble also appear in the group above. CE King, like Atascocita last year, has scheduled Allen in non-district play.
The only team in the list above that doesn’t belong to either 5-6A or 21-6A is Cedar Hill. The Longhorns certainly have their work cut out for them if they’re going to improve on last year’s 8-5 mark, but if they can get through their admirable non-district schedule (Rockwall, Arlington Martin, SLC) healthy and resolute they’ll be in great shape to take on a difficult district of their own in 11-6A. If they can make the postseason, this could be a very dangerous team given their playoff pedigree and their talent.
Now, let’s take a look at the best non-district schedules in the state, as rated by average opponent Elo rating…
Due to the fact that districts vary in size, there’s no standard number of non-district games which makes it difficult to compare teams’ non-district schedules, but we’ve taken a stab anyway. You’ll notice that the top two, Ridge Point and The Woodlands, have only two non-district opponents, which you could argue helps their average. What you can’t argue is Ridge Point and The Woodlands willingness to take on the very best in order to ready themselves for their district seasons. Austin Westlake and North Shore are, without a doubt, the best programs in the state at the moment and choosing to face either of them in non-district play is highly commendable and arguably worthy of the Top 2 spots in this ranking regardless of their number on non-district contests.
Allen comes in at #3 in this list, as mentioned above, and has a good argument to be #1. Flower Mound Marcus did a fantastic job with their non-district slate as well, choosing to take on Highland Park, Carroll, and Trinity. Few programs in the state would even think of doing that.
Atascocita and Cedar Hill were mentioned above, so it’s no surprise to see them on this list as well. Arlington Martin checks in with the #7 non-district schedule as the Warriors look to get battle-tested early, hoping to make a run to the latter rounds of the playoffs. Martin is alone in this list with four non-district opponents and they cut no corners there, taking on Lake Travis, Allen, Cedar Hill, and Temple.
Bridgeland, Duncanville, and Westfield round out the Top 10 non-district schedules according to our ratings and, as mentioned above, it’s no surprise to see some of the top programs in the state on this list. You can’t choose your district mates, but it takes a certain level of ambition, belief, and foresight to put together a non-district schedule like the ones listed above. Kudos to those programs for challenging themselves early. It will pay off come November.