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The Texas high school football world waited with bated breath for the release of the University Interscholastic League’s new district alignments last week.

The Memorial Titans now share a district with opponents a little closer to home for the 2024-2026 seasons.

Usuals like Galveston Ball, Barbers Hill and Baytown Sterling join the Titans in District 9 5A-Division I.

Beaumont United dropped back down to the 5A ranks to join Memorial, along with in-city rival West Brook.

Angleton rounds out the list of district opponents.

Memorial Head Coach Brian Morgan said he wasn’t too surprised by the realignment, given the enrollment numbers announced earlier in the school year.

“The fact we have Angleton and don’t have Crosby or LaPorte is kind of weird, but at the same time, this always brings about some weirdness with redistricting,” Morgan said. “It is what it is.”

For the past two years, the Titans faced a lot of pressure to finish in first or second in district, as the third and fourth seeds to travel to the Dallas area for Round 1 of the playoffs.

That pressure is somewhat alleviated with the realignment pairing Memorial’s district up with Houston-area schools in the first round.

The Titans also share Region III with schools in the Austin area in District 12.

Morgan said having more opponents closer to home helps with some of the lower-level games played earlier in the week.

The Titans also play Dekaney, Spring Legacy and Fort Bend Hightower in non-district football action in 2024.

Memorial currently has Week 4 open, but Morgan said he could leave it as a bye week if the Titans do not find the right opponent to fill that spot.

“It has to fit our schedule,” he said. “We have a really good first seven games, so it needs to be the right opponent.”

The Titans also have a bye week to close the season before the playoffs start.

“It is beneficial, as long as we make the playoffs,” Morgan said. “If you are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, I do think there are some benefits to it. You just have to get through the season without taking a break at any point. If it works out and you are in the playoffs, it is probably a really good thing. If you don’t, you are just sitting at home earlier.”

Morgan said he is still working out some details for home and away games and added he would release an official schedule with times and dates in the coming weeks.

The Titans finished the 2023 football season 8-3, 6-2 in District 8-5A Division I.

Memorial lost its first round playoff battle, 44-7, to the Forney High Jackrabbits.

To make the game possible, the Titans took a four-and-a-half-hour road trip north for the contest.