I just got off of the phone with Highland Christian football coach Pete Miller, and he confirmed that rumors of the program’s demise are greatly exaggerated

Still, the program will have more challenges than usual this year, including the departure of some key players: seven would-be starters transferred to other schools due to the hardship of private school tuition or other reasons, on top of the usual loss of seniors to graduation. Miller said he’s received interest from at least 14 players so far — Highland Christian plays 8-man football — and plans to proceed with the season.

“Even if we’re on a marginal scale, I really feel like we should continue with the program,” he said.

There’s reason to believe they’ll do better than that — the Knights have played a postseason game every year since the program debuted in 2007.

Like their larger neighbors, the Knights are officially in a no-contact period before the first day of practice Aug. 19. They’ll kick off their season Sept. 5 against St. John-Endicott of Kittitas.