CHERRY VALLEY — The Cross County Thunderbirds made a change to their schedule yesterday after Barton announced they would not be participating in 11-man football this season.
The T-Birds will now host Star City Friday, Sept. 18, at Thunderbird Stadium. That was previously a bye week. The bye week will now be Friday, Sept. 11, which was the date of the Barton game.
The Barton School District said the program does not have enough athletes to safely field an 11-man team, and is working to transition the senior high program to eight-man football for the 2026 season.
The junior high program will continue to play 11-man football.
Barton is one of the most storied small-school football programs in Arkansas, winning eight state championships, including four straight from 1986 to 1989. All eight championships were won under Frank McClellan, who led the Bears from 1970 through 2003. McClellan is the winningest coach in Arkansas high school football history with 346 wins.
