The other cleat has dropped.  Participation in High School sports in the 2018-2019 school year stood at 7,937,491 students.  That is a drop of 43,395 students from the previous school year, and it is the first time participation has declined since the 1988-1989 school year.  Not coincidentally, 11-man football participation dropped by 30,829 students to the 2018-2019 number of 1,006,013.  This is the largest decline in participation in the sport of football in High School since the 1999-2000 season.  Some of the reasoning is clearly attributed, according to surveys of parents and students, that worries about concussions and long-term injury have a lot to do with the lack of more students playing football currently.  The good news for High School football is that, even though there is a clear decline, the number of football programs in existence for students grade 9-12 has stayed the same.