NORTH RICHLAND HILLS - John Walsh was feeling a little bittersweet after the state's district realignment was announced Thursday morning at Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Complex.
The Guyer head coach watched as the Wildcats' fate for the next two years was sealed with a move back down to Class 4A, as expected, and there were some mixed feelings.
"First I'll say, honestly, Class 5A was probably the most fun two years of coaching I've had of my 17 [years in coaching]," Walsh said. "To move up, be a small 5A and play in eight of possible 12 playoff games - and the teams we played, the Southlake Carrolls and Cedar Hills - I'll miss that."
But make no mistake, Walsh isn't complaining about his new district.
The Wildcats move back to Class 4A after two years in the state's largest classification, where they had a regular-season record of 15-5 and in 2010 played for a Class 5A Division II championship.
Guyer will be matched up in District 5-4A with Azle, Denton, Lake Dallas, Trophy Club Byron Nelson, Fort Worth Brewer, Wichita Falls and Wichita Falls Rider.
Walsh said he always tries to be honest, and Thursday was no different.
"There's no doubt that 5A is a harder grind," Walsh said. "I'm not going to make any bones about it and say it's all the same, because it's not the same."
That bodes well for the Wildcats, who return 11 starters from a team that was loaded with inexperienced but talented sophomores in 2011, when they made it to the area round of the playoffs before bowing out to Mansfield.
One of those sophomores is Jerrod Heard, who has two years left to start under center for the Wildcats after throwing for 2,300 yards and 27 touchdowns last season.
"We feel like, just watching offseason right now, and especially having Jerrod, if you have a good quarterback, you're in good shape," Walsh said. "We felt like in 5A we were ready to make a run. So yeah, our expectations are going to be lofty in 4A. I'm an honest guy. We plan on doing very well."
Another coach who will be moving from 5A to 4A is new Denton head coach Kevin Atkinson, who takes over the Broncos after spending 10 seasons as the head coach at Keller, which is an old District 7-5A opponent of Guyer's.
"I think it's going to be really competitive," Atkinson said. "I think Rider and Guyer will probably be the top dogs of it, but I think everyone else will be on an even playing field. I think it'll be the type of district that when Week 10 comes around there's going to be a lot of scenarios of who's going to make it and what spot they're going to be in. That's what you want in a district. You don't want two or three teams running away with it and everyone else fighting for one spot."
Rider head coach Jim Garfield wasn't so sure about Atkinson's assessment but did say Guyer might have the upper hand.
"It's going to be a tough district," Garfield said. "I don't know if you can say who the top dogs will be. Lake Dallas and Byron Nelson both had good runs [last season]. I don't know if you can really say who the best teams will be. Guyer coming down from 5A and playing the level of competition they've played at, they definitely have the advantage."
Lake Dallas head coach Michael Young, whose team went three rounds deep in the postseason last year behind an explosive offense that lost most of its weapons to graduation, said he and his staff have some work to do before the season begins.
"It's fun for everyone involved to have a team like Guyer," Young said of a rivalry between two schools separated by less than three miles. "The kids look forward to it when everyone is so close. That makes for the best rivalries. Our games were always good. We're losing a lot of people, so it might be tough for us."
And although Walsh is pleased to end up back in 4A and renew the rivalries with Lake Dallas and Denton, he is not going completely out of the Class 5A world.
The Wildcats have tentatively scheduled their three nondistrict games with Cedar Hill, Colleyville Heritage and Flower Mound Marcus.
"Playing Cedar Hill gives us speed and athleticism," Walsh said. "Playing Marcus, they line up and power you, and then playing Heritage, they have one of the best quarterbacks in the state and they'll throw it all around the field. They'll get us prepared and we'll see a little bit of everything. That was the plan all along.
"We're just preparing ourselves to be in 4A. We have to manage the team different than I would in 5A to win a title game. Our goal doesn't change. We're aiming to win a state championship."
ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com .
