The UIL postseason opens this week with bi-district games spanning Thursday through Saturday, and Central Texas has bodies everywhere in the bracket. Over 30 area teams across five classifications are playing win-or-go-home football, from unbeaten Cedar Park (10-0) and Wimberley (9-0) at the top seeds to .500 squads like Manor and East View who squeaked in and now face road trips against district champions. Thursday's card is a mixed bag of classifications. The marquee local draw is Westlake (9-1) hosting Hays (6-4) at Chaparral Stadium — a home-field advantage that historically means something in November. Wimberley opens its playoff run against Salado at Gupton Stadium, carrying a perfect record into 4A-DII. East View, which needed a Week 11 win just to qualify at 5-5, draws Richmond Fulshear (8-2) on the road — a steep ask. Friday is the big night. Six 6A-DI games feature several intriguing matchups: Hutto (8-2), fresh off a program-milestone win over Vandegrift, travels to face Cypress Ranch (9-1) at a neutral site in College Station. Bowie (8-2) meets Round Rock (6-4) at Burger Center in an all-local affair. Cedar Park, the area's lone unbeaten in 6A, gets Waller (7-3) at Gupton Stadium. Dripping Springs (8-1) faces a legitimate test in Cedar Ridge (9-1) at Tiger Stadium. The 5A-DI bracket scatters Austin-area teams across South and Southeast Texas. Anderson (8-2) and Weiss (8-2) earned favorable seeding, but Manor (5-5) drew the short straw with a trip to undefeated Medina Valley (10-0). Georgetown, which also clinched in Week 11 alongside East View, travels to Angleton (9-1). Bastrop hosts Victoria West in a rare home playoff game at Bastrop Memorial Stadium — a 6-4 vs. 6-4 matchup that looks genuinely competitive. In 4A-DI, Jarrell (9-1) is the area's best bet, facing El Campo (8-2) in San Marcos. Lago Vista (8-2) travels to Belton to play Brownwood (5-5) at Mary Hardin-Baylor. Lampasas, at 4-6, drew Bay City (9-1) — a brutal pairing for a team that barely qualified. Saturday has a single game: Pflugerville (6-4) hosts Richmond Tomas (4-6) at The Pfield at 2 p.m. — a winnable home matchup that could extend a solid but unspectacular season by at least one more week. The geography of these games tells its own story. Several Central Texas teams are driving two-plus hours to neutral or away sites in the Houston suburbs, San Antonio, and the Brazos Valley. Home-field advantage belongs to the teams that earned top seeds. The next six weeks will thin this field fast.
