Eight player football

[rtl112]

Would not wanna see 8 man in my opinion.

[rlh]

I wish they would offer it.  It's the way to go for 1A, I believe.  Even 6 man or 9 man would be good. 

 

. . .

that would be the death of 1a football.  You would force teams like Lake County, South Pitt, Coalfield, Greenback, Copper Basin, Wayne County, Moore County, Fayetteville, Gordonsville etc. move up to 2a. 

Edited January 25, 2017 by rlh

[FBfan26]

that would be the death of 1a football. You would force teams like Lake County, South Pitt, Coalfield, Greenback, Copper Basin, Wayne County, Moore County, Fayetteville, Gordonsville etc. move up to 2a.

+10

[Indian]

Only the top in the current class would move up. Classes would be redivided and it would probably be a similar amount to ones that went to 8 player.

[BlueDevil58]

that would be the death of 1a football.  You would force teams like Lake County, South Pitt, Coalfield, Greenback, Copper Basin, Wayne County, Moore County, Fayetteville, Gordonsville etc. move up to 2a. 

Or they could stay in 1A based on enrollment and play 8 man (or even 6 man).  Give schools the option of 8 man or 11 man, then have a class at the bottom for 8 man and 4-5 classes, divided evenly, for 11 man football. 

 

If we did 6 or 8 man football, it would open up football to all the basketball-only schools who can't even dream of fielding an 11 man team year in and year out.  That would be good for the game and dramatically expand the number of programs in the state, making reclassification more equitable.

 

You could even open the 8 man class up as an option for larger schools that struggle to keep numbers up and compete where they're at, like Union County.  No team who's successful in 11 man would want to move down because fans think it's weird.

[rtl112]

Heck, let's just start playing flag football.

[orngnblk]

Heck, let's just start playing flag football.

No doubt.GEEZ!

[rlh]

Only the top in the current class would move up. Classes would be redivided and it would probably be a similar amount to ones that went to 8 player.

You realize most of those I listed are 240 students or less.   The exception may be Wayne County and Gordonsville.

[rlh]

Or they could stay in 1A based on enrollment and play 8 man (or even 6 man).  Give schools the option of 8 man or 11 man, then have a class at the bottom for 8 man and 4-5 classes, divided evenly, for 11 man football. 

 

If we did 6 or 8 man football, it would open up football to all the basketball-only schools who can't even dream of fielding an 11 man team year in and year out.  That would be good for the game and dramatically expand the number of programs in the state, making reclassification more equitable.

 

You could even open the 8 man class up as an option for larger schools that struggle to keep numbers up and compete where they're at, like Union County.  No team who's successful in 11 man would want to move down because fans think it's weird.

Converting 1a to 8-man would kill it because there are ~ 50 schools in each class.  The enrollment number doesn't always parallel success.  Most of the border line schools that have moved up and down over 40 years are in 2a, Union City and Trousdale.  The 3 of the 4 most dominant teams in the Eastern half of the state right now are Coalfield, Greenback and S.P which are under 250.   Midway and Harriman also fall under that as well.

[BigEdMo]

Heck I thought everyone would like it. Adds another chance for a trophy to the already watered down state championship.

[Indian]

Kansas has 107 teams in 8 player, they seem to manage. That's along with 221 11-player teams.

[BlueDevil58]

If you had 6 or 8 man ball, you'd have more teams in the pot, which means more teams per class, because teams who can't field a team now would then be able to start one up because it's much, much cheaper and you need a lot fewer players.  You could have a 40 or 50 team 8 man class, consisting of schools of all sizes who opt in, as well as start-up programs from tiny, non-football schools like Clinch, then four or five higher divisions of 60-80 teams each.

 

The bottom line is that enrollment doesn't always correlate with success, but it also doesn't correlate with roster sizes because of distance and cultural factors that schools can't control.  There are some small schools that dominate and there are some big schools who struggle to get 25 kids out and get run out of the stadium every night.  8 man would give the schools who can't get the numbers up an option to compete with other schools that have the same issue while letting the others keep playing traditional 11 man football.  If anything, the higher classes could be stronger because a lot of the creampuffs would opt to play 8 man instead of being the district patsy.

 

Combine Div. II into a single classification.

Have a 6 or 8 man class for the schools of all sizes who choose it, including privates.

Play the rest of the publics into 4-5 classes, divided more or less evenly by enrollment.

 

That's actually one less championship for the T$$AA, though, so they'd squash that idea.

 

Looks like fans hate the idea, though, which is why it's not going to fly anytime soon.  It's different, but it's not "flag football," it wouldn't necessarily water things down by creating a whole extra class, and it's not for teams who are can and do compete in 11 man ball successfully.  Lots of good players and great HS football tradition have come out of 8 man ball (and 6 man ball) in the Midwest.

 

You mean to tell me this:  

 

 

or this:

 

 

Wouldn't be fun to watch?

Edited January 25, 2017 by BlueDevil58