Thomas Royston is out as head football coach at Escalante High School, leaving an opening at the storied program.
Royston coached the team for two years and one season (the Lobos did not have a season in 2020-21) with a .500 record.
Escalante Athletic Director Ira Harge confirmed via text message that Escalante was hiring a new football coach, but declined to comment further.
Royston did not respond to a text message and phone call seeking comment.
Escalante finished 4-4 last season with a challenging schedule. The season started strong with an upset win over Navajo Prep in week two.
The season ended with a disappointing loss to Estancia in a de-facto district championship, losing 63-20 at home after quarterback Isaac Archuleta went down with a hand injury. Escalante won their other two district games, 44-6 over Laguna-Acoma and 52-0 over McCurdy both on the road. The final loss put Escalante narrowly out of the playoffs.
Before Royston took over, Dusty Giles was the Escalante coach from 2011-2019, winning state championships in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and finishing as runner-up in 2017. Royston was a longtime assistant with the program, including under Giles.
Giles left in 2020 to coach Jal, who last year finished as state runners-up.
Escalante finished last year with a large senior class and six all-state players but struggled with injuries. Next year’s team should return all-state players Luka Torrez (honorable mention at defensive back and expected to take over at quarterback) and Trey Archuleta (honorable mention at outside linebacker).