Guyer head football coach and athletic coordinator John Walsh knew it was only a matter of time before the Wildcats would be elevated to Class 5A.

    At Monday’s UIL biennial realignment meeting in North Richland Hills, the cutoff enrollment number separating the state’s top two classifications dropped for the first time since 1990. As a result, several area teams once on the border were all of a sudden thrust in different directions.

    “I had the number crunchers telling me so for a while now and I saw the school growing so I knew it was going to happen eventually,” said Walsh, who in four years as head coach has turned Guyer into a 4A football powerhouse. “We’re fine with it, it’s another challenge for the Wildcats and we’ll be ready.”

    The cutoff numbers dropped by 20 students to 2,065 from the previous realignment. Guyer is now one of the smaller 5A programs in the state and joins a revamped District 7-5A that includes Southlake Carroll, Coppell, Keller, Keller Central, Keller Fossil Ridge, Justin Northwest and Saginaw.

    Guyer – which was in the 4A state semifinal for football in each of the last two seasons -- was one of 25 schools across the state elevated to 5A either because of enrollment numbers or by request. Across all classifications, 126 schools were moved up or down.

    It was all part of a day that included district reshuffling across the board and coaches wheeling and dealing to fill holes in their schedules for next season. Guyer, for example, will now play Waxahachie, Cedar Hill and Mesquite Horn in non-district play.

    Some of the other big name schools switching classifications included Pilot Point, which won a state title in football last year and will be moved up to 3A next season. Carrollton Creekview went from one of the smaller 5A programs in the state to one of the larger ones in 4A along with Mansfield Summitt.

    “Nothing changes from our standpoint because we are still looking to win district and make another solid run in the playoffs,” Walsh said. “It’s not a surprise for us.”

    Other big news from the alignment meeting was the bevy of teams reshuffled into districts they weren’t accustomed to even while staying in the same classification.

    Some of the more notable district changes include a revamped District 8-5A that pits Marcus, Flower Mound, Hebron and Lewisville with Allen, Plano, Plano East and Plano West. The LISD schools are with Southlake Carroll and Coppell in a six-team district until the end of this school year.

    “With as many schools as there are now, it’s a big job for the UIL to put everyone together and set the lines,” LISD athletic director Randy Mayes said. “I’m sure there was some rationale behind it, but we aren’t going to get upset because no matter where you go it’s going to be tough. And this is no exception.”

    The new 8-5A is regarded as extremely formidable as the Plano schools and Allen represent four of the larger 5A schools in the state. Allen, of course, is a recent state champion in football.

    “We’ve played these schools before so it doesn’t shock us that we are paired up with them again,” Flower Mound football coach Cody Vanderford said. “We view it as an opportunity because whoever comes out of this district is going to be a very prominent figure in the playoff race.”

    Vanderford said he had to do some shuffling of his own as Allen was originally slated as one of his non district games next season. He replaced that game with Arlington Martin. Marcus head coach Bryan Erwin and both Plano West and Plano East but had to switch to Grapevine and Arlington Lamar.

    “We’ll go from six to eight teams in district so it’s definitely tough, but that’s what makes playing the game so fun,” Erwin said. “We’ll see how well it works out for us come next November.”