Published: November 06, 2009 03:57 pm      

Eight-man football: Proposal could benefit small schools

Everyone deserves a chance. Yet, that chance just isn’t happening for many of the high school football programs in West Virginia.

The Mountain State is full of small high schools, most of which used to have larger enrollments. But a declining economy bringing about a dwindling population has made many of them so small that it’s almost not even feasible to try and field a football team.

That would be a shame.

No sport is bigger in West Virginia. In a state with just two major universities, high school football is as popular here as just about anywhere you can go.

An article recently published in the Daily Telegraph spoke of the problems of small-school football and trying to compete on an even scale. It’s simply not possible with the current system.

The answer being proposed is eight-man football. Why not?

Eight-man football has worked in many places across the nation. Just last week, Shattuck High School in Oklahoma set an eight-man football record with its 91st straight win, the third longest streak in prep football history, no matter the size of the team.

Why not in West Virginia?

Schools like Montcalm, which had just 12 healthy players on its side in a recent game, would finally have a chance at football glory. The Generals — playing in Class A with an enrollment that was nearly doubled by Iaeger in that recent contest — have long struggled to field a team, having compiled one winning season and no playoff appearances in a little under two decades of playing the sport.

This might be the Generals’ chance, as long as Montcalm fits under the enrollment stipulations. According to the report, 18 of the Class A schools in West Virginia have 150 or less students, which was mentioned as the possible requirement to participate. Not even Montcalm is that small, but the numbers could certainly be tweaked.

That report focused on a school like Hannan, located near Huntington, that has an enrollment under 150, and whose football team has maybe 14 players to play an 11-man sport. They lost to Montcalm last week, possibly bringing about the idea for the article. Another small school, Van, nearly dropped football before this season until enough students could be convinced to play the sport.

There are a dozen states or so that now have eight-man football, allowing schools in rural areas to compete for wins and state titles on the gridiron. The National Football Foundation has asked the WVSSAC to explore the possibility of instituting eight-man football in West Virginia, a proposal actively supported by former Marshall coach Bob Pruett.

Is eight-man football something that would work in West Virginia? It’s definitely a radical idea, causing one high-ranking WVSSAC official to say it would be like adding another sport.

Virginia currently has a six-class system in football that allows the smallest schools a chance to play for a title. In West Virginia, there aren’t nearly as many schools, and those numbers continue to plummet due to consolidation. Four more schools will be closed after this year, including Big Creek and Iaeger in McDowell County.

The idea of eight-man football is an intriguing one.

Too often, schools like Montcalm have trouble attracting players to the gridiron because they know they’re out-numbered before they start. With eight players on the field, and a few more rested souls on the sidelines, this might be the answer the Generals have been looking for.

After all, every team deserves a chance. This might be it.