The Study of Sports Podcast Oct. 2, 2026: The sports enthusiasts about the number of high school football programs who are not getting big numbers; plus schedule talk, too

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

In this latest episode, we discuss the number of high school football programs that are having trouble with the number of players.

R.A. Long earlier announced that it would not finish a varsity schedule this year. A Class 4A program in the area does not have enough players for varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen teams. And, after we recorded this podcast on Thursday, Oct. 1, we heard a team in the Puget Sound area is also ending its varsity season early.

We discuss these troubling signs, as well as the scheduling quirks of the 2A Greater St. Helens League. And then we get into why Oregon and Washington high schools don’t have a lot of games against each other.

Our podcast format is simple: A longtime sports reporter (Paul Valencia) discusses high school sports, and more, with longtime sports administrators and former coaches. Cale Piland is the former head football coach at Evergreen and Union and is now the athletic director for Evergreen Public Schools. Tony Liberatore is a former assistant coach and athletic director at Columbia River and is now an associate principal at Fort Vancouver.

We’re always interested in subject ideas for a future podcast. Email us a subject idea.

Send us your thoughts at: [email protected].