The Webb School - Bell Buckle (Tenn.) cancels 2025 football season

The high school football off-season has seen a number of teams cancel their 2025 season and another program made a tough decision after a successful ‘24 campaign.

According to a report by The Tennessean’s Tyler Palmateer, The Webb School – Bell Buckle has canceled their 2025 high school football season, citing low player numbers. The Webb School becomes the latest team to announce or confirm they will not be fielding a football team this fall.

Just earlier this week, high school football teams out of Georgia (Memorial Day School) and New York (Moore Catholic) confirmed that they would be pausing their programs for the upcoming fall.

“The Webb School’s football program has also been significantly impacted by new TSSAA transfer rules, which went into effect in April,” Webb athletic director Jena Jones said via a statement from the report. “While we empathize with the student-athletes who will be unable to compete for the Webb Feet on the football field this season, their health and safety remains paramount in this decision.”

According to the report, The Webb School was just coming off one of the best seasons in program history, in which the Feet went 6-5 and notched a playoff berth for only the second time ever.

What ended up being the straw the broke the proverbial camel’s back was the number of transfers out of the program. The report stated that head coach Evan Gay thought the team looked in good shape with around 35 players until a sudden drop in numbers started occurring due to transfers.

The biggest one was 2026 6-foot-4 athlete Joel Wyatt, who ended up bolting for Oakland in the off-season. Wyatt, who is a 4-star rated athlete and ranked the No. 2 player in all of Tennessee, caught 44 passes for 890 yards and 10 touchdowns last season for the Feet.

The Webb School was supposed to open the 2025 season on the road against Pope John Paul II (Tenn.)