David Friedli

By the Dashboard Lights

10/04/07

Welcome the Game

Welcome to 8-man football, Cougar fans.

The announcement last week that the Lyons-Decatur Northeast school board had approved the change from 11-man football to 8-man ball will provide fodder for community conversation from now until the inaugural game next fall.

Most likely, it will continue long after that.

I support the move. It makes sense in an era of declining enrollment and a high school athletic environment where it seems the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer”.

Whether it is fewer students in the school or fewer participants on the field, there is a point at which putting a team on the field with eight players instead of eleven makes all kinds of sense.

Nearly thirty years ago, I was part of the conversation when a small school in southwestern Nebraska contemplated the move from 11-man to 8-man.

Many in the community reacted as if the sky was falling or the Cold War had just escalated into Russian occupation.

When that school board voted to leave one athletic conference and join another that played 8-man ball, there were threats of lawsuits, changes of residency and recalling of board members.

The next morning, no less than 25 realty “For Sale” signs dotted the football field. Fortunately, that board of education held to its decision.

Three decades later, that school has enjoyed numerous winning football seasons and a decade of prominence in the state football playoffs. Community members pack the grandstands. “For Sale” signs are long forgotten.

No longer do coaches have to suit up for practice for players to get a look at a full defensive team. Athletes have a chance to develop their talent in junior varsity games rather than being thrown into Friday contests before they are ready.

Eight-man football does good things for schools with small enrollments. It actually promotes a higher quality of play because young, undersized, inexperienced players aren’t thrown into the fray too early.

Cougar fans will like 8-man ball. They’ll quickly notice the differences. Two fewer linemen and one less running back. Spectators will find it possible to watch the action of more players. To the spectator, the game is a bit less confusing.

For the players, speed and deception are keys. Size and strength will win some battles, but on a narrower, shorter field, speed makes all the difference. And for anyone who likes scoring, this level of football has it. Games with total points nearing 100 are not uncommon.

There will be travel to different communities and new rivalries will be established. About 70 percent of the schools don’t have a track like Northeast, so fans will find themselves close to the action, watching lots of games played on a gridiron cut into the outfield of a baseball diamond. The field is a bit different, and the style of play takes some getting used to, but 8-man football is not second-rate competition.

For Northeast and the community of Lyons, this is a new era of football. But for Decatur, this is a return to the Logan Valley Conference sports roots.

Here’s hoping success takes root…and grows.