Keene High School canceled the rest of its varsity football season and will skip 2027, citing only 15 players healthy enough to play. Its coach says the team will try to play the remaining games as an independent program outside the UIL.
The Chargers were 1-4 overall and 0-1 in District 6-3A when the decision was announced. Their last game was a 38-12 loss to Italy on Sept. 18. Superintendent Ricky Stephens said continuing with the current roster was unsafe and that playing next fall would likely leave Keene in the same position.
Keene went 6-2 in 2025, its first season playing 11-man football after competing in six-man football from 2021 to 2024. The school will not field a junior varsity team for the rest of this season, though its junior-high schedule will continue. The decision has left opponents seeking replacements: Grandview wants a November game, Whitney rescheduled its homecoming game, and West, Mexia and Groesbeck have schedule vacancies.
