Making Strides

Moving on Up: Tomball Memorial brings its identity to 6A

Moving on Up: Tomball Memorial brings its identity to 6A
Memorial will find out its new district on Feb. 1, 2018 Vype

Originally appeared on Vype.com

After five short years of existence, little brother is making the big jump to Class 6A as community growth and expanded enrollment takes Tomball Memorial to new challenges.

Tomball Memorial makes the move as cross-town rival Tomball stays in Class 5A.

Many wonder if the jump to 6A will hinder the identity of a traditional 5A program that Tomball Memorial has enjoyed since its inception in 2012.

“We knew our great community was growing,” Tomball ISD athletic director Vince Sebo said. “You don’t run from that, you embrace the fact that your community is growing to the point of being a 6A program. We’re not intimidated by that. Our coaches will have our athletes ready to compete.”

Recent history has shown that traditional football powers making the jump from 5A to 6A can be either seamless or difficult.

Friendswood made the jump to the biggest classification in 2014 and culminated records of 8-4 (2014) and 8-5, (2015) with a regional semifinal appearance in the 2015 playoffs.

George Ranch struggled mighty with their move up in 2016 after winning a 5A state title in 2015. Going 6-5 and 6-4 respectively, in their past two seasons at the 6A level.

One item that will not change is the rivalry between Tomball and Tomball Memorial.

The “Tomball Bowl” annually brings out a huge contingent of local fans to witness which team will take home the bragging rights for 364 days.

“We most likely will have the game at the beginning of the season,” Sebo said. “Our community looks forward to these games, so we can expect all sports to continue with this rivalry.”

Until the University Interscholastic League officially announces district alignments in February, only speculation can garner where Tomball Memorial lands.

“I’ve never been right yet on guessing where our schools would end up,” Sebo said. “I would say east, west or south for us. If you’re talking about us heading north, there could be a lot of travel involved.

“Moving us to Cy-Fair could make sense if the UIL decides to make that a split division. We’ve been in Houston ISD before, so those all make sense.”

The move up to 6A should not affect the Wildcats’ football program as coach Sam Parker helped build the Spring Lions into a 6A power during his seven years on the sideline.

Parker accumulated a 20-5 record at Spring his final two seasons, leading the Lions to the 6A regional semifinals in 2015.

Official district alignments will be announced by the UIL February 1, 2018.

This article appears in the January Issue of VYPE Magazine. Pick up your copy at any one of our locations today!

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Astros beat the Royals, 7-3. Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images.

Yordan Alvarez’s long home run backed a solid start by Hunter Brown as the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Sunday in the series finale to avoid being swept.

Alvarez snapped Houston’s 26-inning scoreless streak, crushing Kris Bubic’s sinker 436 feet to center for a three-run homer and a 3-0 Astros lead in the third inning.

Brown (4-1), who allowed one run on seven hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over six innings, surrendered a lone hit in each of the first four innings but struck out seven while not allowing a runner past second.

Brown’s 28-inning shutout streak – fifth longest in franchise history – ended in the fifth inning on a two-out single by Jonathan India and an RBI double by Bobby Witt Jr.

Leading off the fifth, Chas McCormick doubled and scored on Jeremy Peña’s single. McCormick had three hits and scored three runs for the Astros.

Peña’s two-out, two-run double in the sixth extended Houston’s lead to 6-1. Peña collected three RBIs in his first game batting leadoff.

Yainer Diaz added a solo home run in the seventh.

Bubic (2-2) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks, striking out four in five innings.

India had a pair of singles and drove in a run while Witt extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games.

Key moment

Isaac Paredes drew a four-pitch walk ahead of Alvarez’s three-run blast.

Key stat

Alvarez, who led left-handed major leaguers with a .362 average against left-handed pitchers in 2024, hit his first homer of this season against a left-hander.

Up next

The Astros open a three-game homestand Monday against Detroit with Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (1-2, 2.63 ERA) opposing RHP Ronel Blanco (2-2, 5.01).

Tuesday, the Royals begin a three-game series against the Rays in Tampa with Royals RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 3.90) against RHP Taj Bradley (2-1, 5.08).

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome