The 2026 Texas high school football season is here for El Paso teams with the first games ready for kickoff.
A handful teams in Classes 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A and in TAPPS begin play on Thursday, Aug. 27. Friday night football officially arrives on Aug. 28.
All 31 El Paso teams play the first week of competition.
Each UIL team plays 10 games and each team has a bye week during the 11-week regular season.
How many teams make Texas football playoffs?
The top four teams from each district qualify for the playoffs. To win a state title in Texas, teams must win six playoff games.
What is the makeup of 31 El Paso teams in various classes?
Anthony is the lone team in Class 3A, 12 teams in Class 5A, seven teams in Class 6A, 10 teams in Class 4A and one team in TAPPS.
What were UIL realignment changes for 2026 for El Paso?
- Andress had the biggest change, moving from Class 5A to Class 4A.
- Class 4A split up into two districts. Andress, Riverside, Ysleta, Austin and San Elizario are in one district, while Irvin, Clint, Mountain View, Fabens and Bowie are in the other district.
- Class 5A now has two six team districts. Del Valle, Chapin, Canutillo, Burges, El Paso High and Jefferson are in one district. El Dorado, Americas, Hanks, Parkland, Bel Air and Horizon are in the other district.
- Class 6A remained the same with seven teams, Eastwood, Pebble Hills, Franklin, Eastlake, Montwood, Coronado and Socorro.
Dave Campbell's predictions for state champions
- Class 6A, Divsion 1: Waxahachie
- Class 6A, Division 2: Sheldon C.E. King
- Class 5A, Division 1: DeSoto
- Class 5A, Division 2: South Oak Cliff
- Class 4A, Division 1: Stephenville
- Class 4A, Division 2: Carthage
- Class 3A, Division 1: Columbus
- Class 3A, Division 2: Newton
- Class 2A, Division 1: Ganado
- Class 2A, Division 2: Stratford
- Class 1A, Division 1: Rankin
- Class 1A, Division 2: Cherokee
El Paso looks to improve number of teams advancing in playoffs
El Paso
looks to increase the number of teams advancing past the bidistrict round of the playoffs in 2026. In 2025, El Dorado, Eastwood and Andress won playoff games, while Del Valle, Chapin, Pebble Hills and Franklin were competitive but were one and done.
Free tickets for EPISD students to attend games
El Paso ISD students can now cheer on their classmates from the stands at no cost.
Beginning this school year, all El Paso ISD middle and high school students can attend district athletic events free of charge with a current El Paso ISD-issued student identification badge. Elementary students may attend free without an ID.
Students who do not have a current school-issued ID will be charged the regular student admission price. Students from other school districts will pay $4 for football games and $2 for all other sports.
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 31 teams, one goal: El Paso ready for 2026 high school football season
