This is a topic that really interests me. About 10 years ago, Dirk Chatelain wrote a great article entitled something like The Death of High School Football. He highlighted how many fewer kids were playing the game compared to years past. Soccer is one reason, but he focused in on the dwindling number of high schools in Nebraska as being the major cause. I don't remember the exact numbers, but he pointed out that in 1980-ish there were around 360 high schools in the state. At the time he wrote the story, there were something like 280 due to all the closures and consolidations.
So many examples -- Elmwood and Murdock used to be huge rivals; now they are one school. Table Rock, Steinhauer and Humboldt all had high schools at one time; they are now one school. Shelby and Rising City have merged. Stromsberg is part of something called Cross County. Conestoga combined Nehawka, Union and part of the Plattsmouth district; it probably should have included Weeping Water too, as that school has so few students these days. Lyons, Decatur and I think someone else are all one school, as are Scriber and Snyder. Sandhills HS is Halsey, Thedford and others. In this week's Class D boy's basketball rankings there is something called Summerland. I assume it is a co-op of a number of schools.
One the one hand, having a high school in the small town is a good thing, as it helps keep the community afloat and the kids have a greater chance of making the basketball team or having the lead in the play. But from educational and financial standpoints, it's hard to justify all the small schools.
Chatelain's article highlighted the 8-man football team at Humphrey St. Francis (or was it Lindsay Holy Family; I just don't recall), which was in it's last year having a team before co-oping with the local public high school. The team only had 10-11 players and at one point had to travel out to Harrisburg (between Scottsbluff and Kimball) to play a game. A couple of ankle sprains and a knee injury depleted the roster. It's a cool story if you can find it, and really highlights "Nebraska."
Sorry to get off on a tangent