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Dwindling numbers everywhere, is the answer 8 man, is anyone familiar with other states that has this option?

No....moving on.

I have seen 8 man in both Idaho and Washington. The answer to this is yes. Ill give some reasons below.


1. Player Safety - players arent meant to play both ways all game. Having such small rosters this has become a norm and honestly I do not think we realize the negative effect it can have.

2. It will let schools keep their programs alive, giving students an option to play besides a distant co op.

3. It can actually be more entertaining to watch with the open space.

4. It can seperate the class problem we are seeing now with teams that have 40-50 man rosters consistently playing agaisnt high teens - low 20 man rosters.

Konjo, I agree with your points.

Portage, why such a negative attitude about 8 man.

konjo78 wrote:I have seen 8 man in both Idaho and Washington. The answer to this is yes. Ill give some reasons below.


1. Player Safety - players arent meant to play both ways all game. Having such small rosters this has become a norm and honestly I do not think we realize the negative effect it can have.

2. It will let schools keep their programs alive, giving students an option to play besides a distant co op.

3. It can actually be more entertaining to watch with the open space.

4. It can seperate the class problem we are seeing now with teams that have 40-50 man rosters consistently playing agaisnt high teens - low 20 man rosters.

Even 30 years ago, did we really see different starters for each side of the ball? Doesn’t seem like a unique problem 

CCDevil2012 wrote:

konjo78 wrote:I have seen 8 man in both Idaho and Washington. The answer to this is yes. Ill give some reasons below.


1. Player Safety - players arent meant to play both ways all game. Having such small rosters this has become a norm and honestly I do not think we realize the negative effect it can have.

2. It will let schools keep their programs alive, giving students an option to play besides a distant co op.

3. It can actually be more entertaining to watch with the open space.

4. It can seperate the class problem we are seeing now with teams that have 40-50 man rosters consistently playing agaisnt high teens - low 20 man rosters.

Even 30 years ago, did we really see different starters for each side of the ball? Doesn’t seem like a unique problem 

30 years ago teams ran the ball almost exclusively , games ended much earlier and with fewer plays. 
We regularly see 3 hour games now. With heavily favored passing attacks. I remember in school 20+ years ago my school might be lucky to even attempt one pass and games regularly were over in under two hours.
As for 8 man, yes. Youngsville, Sheffield, Cameron County, Mapletown , Avella, etc and other schools with numbers issues should be able to consider it without resorting to co-ops. 

30 years ago teams ran the ball almost exclusively , games ended much earlier and with fewer plays. 
We regularly see 3 hour games now. With heavily favored passing attacks. I remember in school 20+ years ago my school might be lucky to even attempt one pass and games regularly were over in under two hours.


Except Westmont, which might throw the ball five times a year!!!

The options in the majority of our area schools are simple and the decisions will have to be made in over the next decade.  Option 1) drop football Option 2) co-op Option 3) go to 8 - man.   You can only bury your head in the sand for so long. 

Also in the past 30 years we have learned so much about how the game effects the health of our players. Even when i played 10 years ago concussions just started to be taken seriously. So many former players can have health issues that may be traced back to the way things were 30 years ago.



When you are seeing a decrease in rosters, teams, and school sizes you have to adapt. There is nothing wrong with offering an 8 man option, its something that should be done for the A class.

I can see it now.....2 fellas, mano-a-mano. 1 kicks off to the other, who either runs it back, or is tackled and stopped. Then he punts to the other fella, who tries to do the same. Can't stand the excitement- pass out cardio pills at the gate.