A&M Consolidated, Bryan and Rudder will be heading south and east after the latest University Interscholastic League realignment, which placed College Station High School near the middle of a Class 3A district based in the Brazos Valley.

The biennial realignment announcement Thursday means major changes for the local schools. Bryan and Consol will move into District 14-5A with Conroe, Conroe Oak Ridge, The Woodlands, The Woodlands College Park and Lufkin, remaining in Region II but ending an eight-year stay in Central Texas-based districts based around Killeen.

Rudder will be headed to District 18-4A with Brenham, Caney Creek, Huntsville, Magnolia, Magnolia West, Montgomery, Waller and Willis. The Rangers will switch to Region III after spending two years in Region II with Central Texas teams from Pflugerville, Manor, Hutto and Bastrop.

College Station, which will open in the fall, will start in District 18-3A as a non-football member with Caldwell, Madisonville, Navasota, Rockdale and Taylor.

Travel considerations, both for district contests and the playoffs, left local coaches generally happy with the changes.

"I think it's the best-case scenario for us," new Bryan head football coach Ross Rogers said. "Most of our games will be 60 miles away and not 90 or 120, so it makes sense."

District 14-5A will be paired with 13-5A (two Humble, four Klein and two Spring schools) in the first round of the playoffs. Currently, Bryan and Consol match up with 11-5A, which includes DeSoto, Longview, Tyler Lee and schools from Mesquite.

Over the last two seasons, the Tigers and Vikings opened the football playoffs with games in Ennis, Corsicana and DeSoto.

"The travel is much better in the playoffs," Consol head football coach David Raffield said. "We're closer to northwest Houston, and it's probably easier to get neutral sites."

Moving to a seven-team district will give Bryan and Consol each a bye week in district play. Both schools have used their open dates prior to the start of league play while in eight-team 12-5A.

Rogers, who was hired last month to replace Bob Bellard, likes the idea of playing four nondistrict games before starting league play.

"I wanted to scrimmage twice and play three nondistrict games, but with us having a fourth nondistrict game [and one scrimmage], we'll have a good feel of where we're at going into district, and hopefully the record's OK, too," Rogers said. "I feel like having four nondistrict games was good for us."

Raffield and Rogers spent Thursday morning at UIL regional centers putting together their nondistrict schedules. Both had chosen four opponents by the time they drove home, although the sites had not been set.

Consol will play what should be one of the toughest nondistrict schedules in the state, facing Copperas Cove, Waco Midway, Austin Westlake and Lake Travis. Class 4A Lake Travis, which is moving up to 5A, became the first team in Texas history to win five consecutive state titles. Midway reached the third round of the playoffs, and Copperas Cove and Westlake made the 5A playoffs last season.

"I really, truly believe you've got to play the best people available in nondistrict games," Raffield said. "It sets you up for district and for the playoffs."

Bryan's projected nondistrict opponents will be Midway, 4A Magnolia, Belton and 4A Pflugerville Hendrickson. Belton made the 5A playoffs last season, while Hendrickson made it in 4A.

Rogers said scheduling conflicts prevented him from setting up games against Bryan's longtime rival Temple and Brenham, but he hopes to play those schools in the future.

Coaches from newly formed 14-5A met Thursday to draw for open dates during district play. Bryan will have its open date on Week 9 with Consol open on Week 10.

"The advantage is you get to rest and go scout your [playoff] opponent," Raffield said. "The negative is your season's cut a week short if you don't make the playoffs."

One of the most notable statewide changes in 5A involved the teams currently with Bryan and Consol in 12-5A. Belton, Copperas Cove, Temple, Killeen Ellison, Harker Heights and Killeen Shoemaker will be joined by Midway and Killeen in 8-5A, moving those schools into Region I. That means they could travel as far as Lubbock for regional tournaments.

"That shocked me," Raffield said. "They got nailed with travel. I'm glad it's not us."

Rudder's new district will mean less travel. The Rangers will be in a rugged league headlined by traditional 4A football power Brenham, and having nine teams will allow coaches less time to prepare for the start of district play.

"It's one of the best districts around, no doubt," Rudder head football coach C.M. Pier said. "It's good in every sport.

"I like it for the travel aspect. It's a little tough as far as having preseason games to get ready. You've got to get hitting on all cylinders a lot quicker. You've got to answer a lot of questions a lot quicker."

Pier was working to set up two nondistrict games Thursday.

This realignment will mean less to College Station's football program than to the other local schools because the Cougars will not compete in a district for two years. The Cougars will play a combination of varsity and JV teams in football, starting against the varsity squad from Mildred. Last season, Mildred reached the second round of the 2A Division II playoffs.

New College Station head football coach and athletics coordinator Steve Huff inherited a schedule with five games and lined up another possible opponent Thursday.

"We'll play some straight varsity games, and we'll play some teams that are JV," Huff said. "That's best for our program, to have a mixture and get as many kids playing time as we can."

College Station is expected to move up to 4A during the next realignment in 2014.

The next Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools alignment will place Brazos Christian and St. Joseph in the same league. They will be members of Division III District 5 with Hallettsville Sacred Heart, New Braunfels John Paul II, San Antonio St. Gerard and Shiner St. Paul. The local teams were paired after TAPPS dropped the Division IV level.