When I was in MS our Varsity football team won 6 games in 4 years and had less than 30 kids on the team. We hired a new coach my freshman year and by my Junior year was playing for the state championship with over 60 kids on a 1A roster.
At a 1A or 2A school it only takes a couple of good classes or a coach that instills belief into the program for numbers to turn it around. Was the school supposed to close the doors on the program after 5 years of ineptitude and historically low numbers? In my opinion, success and numbers, especially at a small school level is cyclical. There were maybe 2-3 kids on my state championship team that would have played at a larger school, if the administration would have given up on the program it would have deprived the other 60+ kids the opportunity to be a part of something special.