KILGORE DUAL CHAMPS! | Final regular season standings: Lady ‘Dogs 14-0 in district; ‘Dogs claim 18th straight title; playoffs on the horizon
It’s good to be the champions — for 18 CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
And it’s good to be the champions — and only allow ONE FREAKING GOAL in the entire district schedule, of which you won every SINGLE GAME.
That’s Kilgore High School soccer these days: coach Hector Peralez’s Bulldogs won their district championship (District 15-4A) for the 18th straight year. Like children who were born in 2008 have a Kilgore district soccer title for every year that they’ve been in the world.
Crazy, huh?
The Bulldogs are 20-1-1 this season, and their only loss was at Center back on Feb. 10. Kilgore’s tie was to Greenville (2-2) on Jan. 17. So Kilgore ran the table, dealing Center a 1-0 loss Friday night to avenge the earlier one, and clinch the district championship.
As for the rest of the boys district standings, Center’s Roughriders lost at Kilgore Friday night, and will go into the playoffs as the second seed from the district. Pine Tree, who won 13 games and managed a tie with Center in one of their matchups, will be the third seed, and Sabine finished fourth, taking the fourth and final playoff spot. The season ends for the Henderson Lions, the Carthage Bulldogs and the Tatum Eagles.
And coach Daniel Garcia’s Kilgore Lady ‘Dogs went 18-2-3 along the way to clinching a district championship, a 14-0 district record. It’s their second straight, having won both titles since Garcia’s arrival last school year. They only gave up one goal this entire season. And to put things even more in perspective, Kilgore is 28-0 (!!) against district opposition since Garcia took the helm. The Lady Bulldogs have not lost a single district game since Garcia took over.
Henderson’s Lady Lions finished in second place in the district race. Spring Hill finished third, and Pine Tree fourth, claiming the last playoff berth. Center, Carthage, Sabine and Tatum, in that order, rounded out the district standings (all below).
So, what now?
Well, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 4A playoffs will begin soon. Last year, Kilgore’s boys went 21-4-1, falling just short of their attempt to make it back to the state tournament, which is played at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Stadium each year. Kilgore fans are very aware of the location: both the boys and girls teams have competed at Birkelbach at state on occasion, the boys having broken through for a state championship under coach Austin Walker back in 2017.
The Bulldogs’ last trip was in 2024; they lost to Boerne in the state semifinals.
This week is spring break. Bi-district, or first-round, playoff games will be played March 19-21. Second, or area, round games will be March 23-24, and third-round, or regional semifinal games are set to be played March 26-28.
Regional tournaments are March 30-31, and the state semifinals are April 2-4.
The state tournaments for boys and girls are both played in Georgetown, as mentioned, and for Class 4A, it’s all on Thursday, April 9. The 4A, Division I girls title game starts at 11 a.m. that day, followed by 4A-DI, around 1:30. The 4A-DII girls game is set for a 4 p.m. start, and the 4A-DII boys wind things up at 6:30 p.m.
When first-round playoff details are set, we’ll have them here on ETBlitz.com.
DISTRICT 15-4A BOYS SOCCER STANDINGS (after 2026 regular season concluded)
| Team | Overall record | District record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilgore | 20-1-1 | 11-1 | Won district title for an 18th season; clinched top playoff seed. |
| Center | 14-3-2 | 11-1-1 | Second seed in playoffs; can claim a win over arguably state’s best team (Kilgore). |
| Pine Tree | 13-3-2 | 7-3-2 | Third seed in playoffs from the district; tied with Center & Henderson in regular season. |
| Sabine | 8-9 | 5-6 | Claimed fourth and final playoff spot in district 15-4A. |
| Henderson | 6-11-4 | 3-7-1 | Fifth place in the district standings; season concluded. |
| Carthage | 9-10 | 3-9 | Sixth place in the district standings; season concluded. |
| Tatum | 4-17 | 0-12 | Seventh place in the district standings; season concluded. |
DISTRICT 15-4A GIRLS SOCCER STANDINGS (after 2026 regular season concluded)
| Team | Overall record | District record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilgore | 20-1-1 | 11-1 | Won district title for an 18th season; clinched top playoff seed. |
| Center | 14-3-2 | 11-1-1 | Second seed in playoffs; can claim a win over arguably state’s best team (Kilgore). |
| Pine Tree | 13-3-2 | 7-3-2 | Third seed in playoffs from the district; tied with Center & Henderson in regular season. |
| Sabine | 8-9 | 5-6 | Claimed fourth and final playoff spot in district 15-4A. |
| Henderson | 6-11-4 | 3-7-1 | Fifth place in the district standings; season concluded. |
| Carthage | 9-10 | 3-9 | Sixth place in the district standings; season concluded. |
| Tatum | 4-17 | 0-12 | Seventh place in the district standings; season concluded. |
