‘Tough playing for a rival school’: Football returns to Central High School after year off

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - After taking a year-long hiatus, football is back at Central High School.

The school was on the chopping block over the last couple of years because of declining enrollment. Between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, only five new attendees ed Central High for a total of 409 students.

As of Aug. 1, 2024, the district indicated that 566 students were enrolled in Central High. The recent surge has brought more stability to the school and also rejuvenated the football program.

Leading into the 2023 football season, there weren’t enough players to field a team at Central High School. The istration decided to nix the football season completely.

Players who did still want to play were asked to play down the road at Southeast High School.

“It wasn’t as nice playing for another school, but it was okay,” senior, Shawn Bridgewater said. “It was weird wearing a different jersey.”

Bridgewater said he will play both sides of the ball during the 2024 season. At this point in time, there are roughly 30 players on the roster, more than enough to field a team.

The team is led by first-year head coach, Michael Klyce. He said there has been a lot of improvement during the summer and he expects the team to compete.

“I’ve run into several alumni excited about the football season,” Klyce said. “Just because we didn’t have a program last year doesn’t mean that we can’t take kids to the next level and win football games.”

Central will host its first game of the season against East Buchanan on Aug. 31.

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