Aurora football season in doubt: coach change follows low numbers; Houn’ Dawgs forfeit Nevada game Friday

The future of Aurora’s 2026 football season is uncertain following a series of developments this week involving low participation numbers, injuries and a coaching change.
On Monday, district administrators met with coaches, players and parents to discuss whether the Houn’ Dawgs would be able to continue the season after low numbers and injuries took their toll during an 0-3 start.
Following the meetings, first-year head coach Dalton Hill was relieved of his football coaching duties. Defensive coordinator and former East Newton head coach Broc Wolfe was named interim head coach.
The changes come as Aurora has already canceled its junior varsity season and will forfeit Friday’s scheduled game against Nevada because of low participation numbers.
Aurora Superintendent Ben Yocom told Ozarks Sports Zone the district believes the program can continue its varsity season despite being unable to play this week.
“We had a situation where our numbers after our Friday night game against Mt. Vernon led us to a position where we had to re-evaluate things,” Yocom said. “With that, we looked through a lot of different things and looked at a lot of different situations. Due to low participation, we canceled the JV season last Thursday. We met with the various stakeholders this morning and had a player meeting to see how many numbers we were at.
“I think we are in a position where we can proceed with a season, however, we will not be able to play on Friday due to low participation. Our goal is to prepare things and get ready to play the following Friday against Monett.”
If Aurora is able to return to the field, the Houn’ Dawgs are scheduled to travel to Monett on Sept. 25.
That game is slated to serve as the Cubs’ Homecoming contest.