DCTF Magazine Slots Paris Just Over Sulphur Springs In District Preview
Fall camp is already one week in and the Texas High School Football season is quickly approaching, with the season opener being just three weeks away. After finally spending a summer viewing the Sulphur Springs Wildcats as favorites, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine made a surprising shift in their District 7-4A preview, providing the Wildcats with a little bit of fuel to use as motivation.
Despite their consistent success year-after-year in the Coach Faircloth Era, one thing has remained the same, the Wildcats have been a bit of an underdog in the public eye. After their second consecutive 10-win season in 2025, it seemed the Wildcats were finally going to get the preseason recognition they hadn’t been getting in years’ past, as Dave Campbell’s put the Wildcats at No. 8 in their preseason rankings.
In a surprising turn of events, the magazine released their 4A D1 Region 2 District Projections and Playoff Outlook Thursday, and the Wildcats were no longer at the top of District 7-4A, being dropped down to No. 2, just behind their rival, the Paris Wildcats.
“Old Highway 19 rivals Paris and Sulphur Springs, both of which were area round playoff teams, expect to contend for the district title,” insider Matt Stepp wrote. “But both have major questions on defense. Paris has a bit more experience back on defense and after last year’s close game, they get the slight edge over Sulphur Springs.”
The renewal of the Highway 19 rivalry has made for some of the most exciting matches the Wildcats have played in, with all four of their recent meetings finishing in a one-score game. Sulphur Springs has come out on top by an average score of 31-23, winning all four games and looking to make it five straight this fall. Though things could get tricky if they were to finally take their first loss to Paris.
The magazine then went on to predict the Wildcats Bi-District matchup, having them face off against Kilgore in the first round, a team who has made it all the way to the State Championship in each of the last two season.
While the Wildcats have done just fine as the underdog in years past, it was exciting to see how they would fare without that chip on their shoulder. Now, picked to finish behind their rival, despite their No. 8 ranking, and despite beating Pairs in each of their last four matchups, it seems they have been given that extra bit of motivation back.
