by Geoff Fox
Paul Imphong Field at Hancock Middle-Senior High School will be quiet on Friday nights this fall following the news that the school doesn’t have enough student athletes to field a football team in 2026.
The school announced the change last Friday afternoon, August 21.
In a post on social media, new school principal Andrew Kaetzel shared the news, noting the school wouldn’t be able to put a team on the field this year.
“Over the past several weeks, school staff have worked to recruit enough student athletes to support a football program this fall,” he said.
Despite those efforts, not enough students committed to participate, making it impossible to field a team for competitive play, he added.
Because of this, Hancock had to notify the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association it wouldn’t be able to field a varsity team this year. That decision had to be made by a certain deadline so that the fall schedule could be finalized for all schools fielding a team.
photo by Geoff Fox
This is the first time in 70 years the Panthers won’t have a football team competing against area schools.
“HMSHS recognizes that football has a long history in our community, and we understand this news will be especially disappointing to our students, families, alumni, and community members who have supported the Panthers through the years,” Kaetzel said.
He added he appreciates all the fans who continue to support Hancock athletics and Panther pride.
The Hancock News reached out to Athletic Director Jamie Mason Lego, asking what happens to the kids who showed up to play, if they had any other football team options available, and if the school would be making a push during the school year to attract students to come out for the 2027 football season.
“We have nothing additional to add at this time,” she said in an email in response to the questions.
Last Friday, after the news broke about the season being canceled, The Hancock News asked Hancock football Head Coach Greg Cartrette for a comment.
In a text message to The Hancock News, Cartrette said he did not have a comment — “not at this time.”
In a post on his social media page, former coach and Hancock athletic director Bill Sterner noted it’s “an alarming trend” across the nation as smaller populated schools don’t have the kids to fill a team.
Sterner was a coach or assistant for the Panthers’ football team for 27 years and the Athletic Director for 28 years. He posted that it makes him sad there won’t be a team.
“So many awesome memories with players; coaches and especially Coach Paul Imphong who founded the program,” Sterner said.
Over the years, Sterner said it was always a challenge to get a safe number of players, “but a very satisfying challenge when kids learned and experienced this great game.”
Earlier this summer, Cartrette announced the hiring of four new coaches to his staff and gave people hope as he said seniors Logan Hendershot and Jayten McCarty would be two players to watch this upcoming season.
That hope was especially highlighted after last season, when Hancock football had to pull out of the competitive season before it was over because injuries had cut the team roster too short to play safely.
This summer, Cartrette said he was excited about all the returning players as well as those who were playing for the first time this year.
A scrimmage against Southern Garrett was scheduled for this Friday as a warmup to the season. Hancock was to open the season next Friday, September 4, at home against rival Berkeley Springs.
