The Reno County Homeschool Sabres will again play all eight of its high school football games on the road because it does not have a home field.
Reno County has one Eight-Man I game, one Eight-Man II game, two Class 3A games, one Class 2A game and two Class 1A games on the 2026 schedule. The schedule includes two state champions and two state runners-up.
Reno County’s season kicks off Sept. 4 against Eight-Man II state power Axtell and ends Oct. 23 against Class 3A state power Andale.
“Heading into the season, we are facing a challenging schedule — to say the least,” said Reno County Sabres’ coach Lee Smith.
Reno County Homeschool Sabres’ Bo Smith returns for his senior season at quarterback and linebacker for a team that posted a 9-0 record in 2025 against 8-Man and 11-Man teams.
Bo Smith, 5-foot-11, 195-pounds, will be a four-year starter for the Sabres. As a junior he completed 106-of-146 passes (73%) for 1,712 yards with 35 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He wears No. 7 for the Sabres.
For his career, Bo Smith has completed 355-of-570 passes (62.3%) for 5,441 yards with 85 TD and 18 interceptions.
He has rushed for 2,362 yards on 321 carries during his career (7.36 yards per carry) with 56 TDs, including 973 yards on 79 carries (12.3 yards per carry) and 25 TDs during the 2025 season.
The Sabres also return sophomore Colt Smith, senior Jett Smith, senior Laurence Cable and junior Beckim Neidenthal.
Rock Smith rushed for 496 yards on 37 carries (13.4 yards per carry) with 10 TDs. He also caught 29 passes for 450 yards and scored 13 TDs.
Cable ran for 225 yards on 26 carries (8.65 yards per carry) and scored 4 TDs. Colt Smith, caught 19 passes for 379 yards with12 TDs. Jett Smith caught 17 passes for 264 yards with 2 TDs.
Reno County coach Lee Smith has an 18-5 record the past three seasons. The Sabres posted a 9-0 record last season and outscored 8-Man and 11-Man opponents 648-290.
The Sabres’ first opponent Axtell has won four straight 8-Man Division II state titles from 2001-2004 and won a state record 58 consecutive games.
The streak was snapped with a 26-18 loss at Hanover on Oct. 17, 2025. Hanover defeated Axtell again in the Eight-Man II state title game.
The Sabres will play Eight-Man I state champions South Central Sept. 11 at Coldwater, Hugoton (8-2 in 2025) on Sept. 18 and Class 1A state runner-up Rossville Sept. 25.
Andale, the Sabres’ final opponent on Oct. 23, has won back-to-back Class 3A state championships and six of the last seven state championships. Coach Dylan Schmidt has a career record of 110 wins, 4 losses.
The Andale Indians also won the Class 4A Division I state title in 2014 and back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 2007 and 2008.
Reno County’s 2026 opponents had a combined record of 57-20 in 2025.
Reno County Sabres 2026 football schedule (all road games)
Sept. 4 Axtell Eight-Man II (10-2 in 2025, lost to Hanover twice, including state championship game)
Sept. 11 South Central Eight-Man I (12-0 in 2025, Eight-Man II state champions)
Sept. 18 Hugoton Class 3A (8-2 in 2025, lost to Pratt in first round of state)
Sept. 25 Rossville Class 1A (10-2 in 2025, lost to Sterling 35-34 in Class 1A state championship game)
Oct. 2 Belle Plaine Class 1A (0-9 in 2025)
Oct. 9 Cimarron Class 2A (4-5 in 2025)
Oct. 23 Andale Class 3A (13-0 in 2025, Class 3A state champions)
