Posted: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 06:18 AM - 14,155 Readers

By: Rick Cantu

Leander vs. Austin High. Lake Travis vs. McCallum. Cedar Park vs. LBJ. Hendrickson vs. West Mesquite. Liberty Hill vs. Geronimo Navarro.

Sound familiar?

Those are bidistrict pairings from 2010 that will be repeated when the UIL state football playoffs begin this week.

While first-round matchups can often be mismatches, that was hardly the case for Lake Travis, which struggled before disposing McCallum 28-20 last fall, one of the toughest tests in a season that culminated in a fourth consecutive Class 4A state title.

Lake Travis, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A since its decisive victory over Aledo on Sept. 9, has won 24 straight playoff games. The Cavaliers are bidding to become the first team in Texas history to win five straight state football championships.

Here are a few more storylines as bidistrict approaches:

• Austin High (2-8) is seeking its first playoff victory since defeating Corpus Christi Ray and San Antonio Jefferson in the first two rounds in 1957. The Maroons have reached the playoffs 12 times since then but have not advanced past the first round.

• Westlake (8-2) is making its 23rd straight playoff appearance . The Chaparrals have been to the playoffs 27 times — third-best among Class 5A teams in Central Texas, behind Temple (39) and Belton (29).

• Vandegrift (7-3) earned its first playoff appearance in just its second year of varsity competition. The Vipers will seek their first postseason victory when they play Travis (3-6) Thursday night at House Park.

• Wimberley (9-0) has a combined record of 23-1 since the start of last season. Ranked No. 2 for much of the season in Class 3A, the Texans' only loss during this stretch came in last year's state semifinals against Coldspring-Oakhurst.

• Smithville (7-2) enters the playoffs one year after going 0-10. The Tigers had not advanced to the playoffs since 1998, the sixth-longest drought for a Class 2A team in Texas.

• Under Jerry Vance, Liberty Hill (7-3) reached the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years. Vance, whose career record is 117-40, said his players are taking success "one step at a time."

"The kids are doing great," Vance said on Sunday. "It's us old guys that have trouble getting up in the morning."