Mackay High School will field a football team in 2020, according to Head Coach Travis Drussel.

The Miners, formerly part of a co-op with Butte County in 2019, were unable to field enough players to form a legitimate team in 2020. But thanks to a few last-minute recruits, Drussel said 2020 will be a go for his squad. Drussel projected around six seniors will compete for the Miners, followed by two juniors and two freshman. 

The Miners will compete in the 1ADII Rocky Mountain Conference and will play a four-game conference-only schedule. According to Drussel, Mackay will field around 11 players, with senior Chase Green starting at quarterback and 6-foot-4 Kolton Holt anchoring the line.

Mackay was staring down a football-less season after the Idaho High School Activities Association ruled 2019’s co-op, dubbed the Lost Rivers Pirates, would have to move to 2A from 1ADI due to higher enrollment numbers between the two schools. The Pirates reached the 2019 1ADI state championship game, falling to Prairie.

As August crept closer, Drussel said he did his best to appeal to the IHSAA, arguing Lost Rivers would have serious trouble competing at 2A and moving up from eight-man to 11-man play. A lack of depth across the board coupled with injuries throughout the season would likely mean the Pirates would not finish the year, Butte County Head Coach Sam Thorngren said.

But Sunday's news means Butte County and Mackay will once again separate, as Friday night lights make their way back to the town of Mackay. 

"We'll keep fighting. That's what we do up there," Drussel said. "Mackay is a proud town, and we're going to get these kids going. The future is bright for the Miners."