Before the season, the coaches ask around town to see how many people will be going out for the team, and they can tell you within one or two people how many will show up at that first practice. With Midwest this year, that number was 25, which was the most the school had fielded in as many years as the head coach can remember. Although they are two shorter now than when they started the season, Midwest is still very happy with the numbers they have out. Year to year in small schools, coaches fear for their programs. They fear there will not be enough players to even have a football team, which has happened three times in the past four years in Wyoming at three different schools.
Schools can play nine-man, but are ineligible for the playoffs.
This is a route that some schools are forced to take simply because they don't have enough players to put on the field to play an 11-man game. This means most players must play both offense and defense, and some true athletes shine on both sides of the ball. Although some schools will travel more than 250 miles to play a ballgame, those schools are few and far between. Many times, these schools are forced to play junior varsity or freshman teams from the larger surrounding schools. Playing for a small school does have its advantages.