8-Man football vs. 11-Man football
- Thread starter CAMCLONE26
- Start date
I went to an 8-man game earlier this year and probably could have played any position on the field and been all-state. and I was a marginal player in a small school illinois division.
lol is this a serious question? I think there is a reason why 99.9% of the teams playing football play 11-man football...
It's not like schools that play 8-man do it by choice. It's out of necessity. I'm sure if they had the #s to field an 11-man team they would.
I'll one up ya, whats better the NFL or Arena Football? While 8 man is exciting, its just a football hybrid. Iowa high school football changed dramatically when they created the 8 man districts.
Even though every team that plays 8-man football will give you a bunch of hyperbole about how awesome it is, it is not.
I watched a playoff game in 8-man football and couldn't believe how bad the teams were.
Remember, in Iowa these are the teams who could not win in 11-man football. Most of these teams were getting drilled prior to going to 8-man.
The state of Iowa made a huge mistake with it. Now any A school who stinks wants to go to 8-man to win. Guess what, there will be a ton of 8-man teams next year and fewer opportunities for high school kids to play football.
What a joke. The same teams will be losing all over again.
I watched a playoff game in 8-man football and couldn't believe how bad the teams were.
Remember, in Iowa these are the teams who could not win in 11-man football. Most of these teams were getting drilled prior to going to 8-man.
The state of Iowa made a huge mistake with it. Now any A school who stinks wants to go to 8-man to win. Guess what, there will be a ton of 8-man teams next year and fewer opportunities for high school kids to play football.
What a joke. The same teams will be losing all over again.
So should we eliminate D3 or NAIA college basketball? Those teams would stand no chance against D1 schools.
My home town plays 8-man. They went from not winning a game to not losing a game when they made the transition.
As a side note, my home town isn't even large enough to fill out an entire wrestling squad. Very small school. I think that 8-man is a good thing for schools who are actually small. There are some teams that have upwards of 40 guys on their team but are playing 8-man...that is a bit over the top.
Lets face it, in small town Iowa (just like Texas), people look forward to friday night football games. It give the town an entertainment outlet as well as something to be proud of.
As a side note, my home town isn't even large enough to fill out an entire wrestling squad. Very small school. I think that 8-man is a good thing for schools who are actually small. There are some teams that have upwards of 40 guys on their team but are playing 8-man...that is a bit over the top.
Lets face it, in small town Iowa (just like Texas), people look forward to friday night football games. It give the town an entertainment outlet as well as something to be proud of.
Really? A mistake to allow teams with small # of participants to still play the game of football? A mistake to not force freshman into action on the varsity level when they are not physically ready? When I was a freshman we had 9 freshman who played varsity football in some capacity. We started the season with 22 players, a few quit a few got hurt and we were down to 15 players. Please explain to me how my coach could have possibly prepared us to play a 11 man football game? Unfortunately he had to try. 8 man football is a great thing and it increases opportunities for kids at small schools and schools who don't have enough players to effectively participate at 11 man.
I'm guessing you went to school at CAM of Anita and I can say you had some great games with Adair Casey back in the day (early 2000's)
In 8-man football most of the starters on offense also start defense and to play both sides you have to be fairly athletic and even though there is 3 less players it is still football. 8-Man is faster paced, funner to watch, and there is way more scoring during the games.
You have to play 8-man football to really respect it. Our school used to be an 11 man team and when we found out we were becoming an 8-man school no one really new anything about it and didn't like the idea of it but if you ask people now they would prefer 8-man over 11-man any day. So unless you play 8-man or watch it closely you will probably dislike it but you have to respect it because it is still football. :yes:
You have to play 8-man football to really respect it. Our school used to be an 11 man team and when we found out we were becoming an 8-man school no one really new anything about it and didn't like the idea of it but if you ask people now they would prefer 8-man over 11-man any day. So unless you play 8-man or watch it closely you will probably dislike it but you have to respect it because it is still football. :yes:
In 8-Man there is a Quarterback, Running back, lineman, receivers, safeties, linebackers, kickers, and so fourth, and they wear football helmets, and other pads and they play with a football so 8-man sounds like football to me.
If you look at 11 man programs in class A that suck, it's primarily because of a lack of depth. When I was in school, we were starting a couple of 135 lb. freshmen out of necessity. Then everyone just crushed them and they were an exploited weak link on the team. Had 8 man been available at the time, we would have played it and would have been successful, because there was a big drop off in talent beyond our top 10 or 12 kids.
Today, there still is a lot of difference in school size in class A. If you're averaging 15 or 20 boys per grade, it's a heck of a lot easier to field an 11 man team than if you've only got 7-12, especially when you figure that not everyone goes out for football.
The teams that used to suck in 11 player but are thriving in 8 player are doing so because the 8 player game better matches their depth.
Today, there still is a lot of difference in school size in class A. If you're averaging 15 or 20 boys per grade, it's a heck of a lot easier to field an 11 man team than if you've only got 7-12, especially when you figure that not everyone goes out for football.
The teams that used to suck in 11 player but are thriving in 8 player are doing so because the 8 player game better matches their depth.
:yes::yes:
Of course you could also say that about teams that drop from 3A to 2A, depth is huge in high school football. (Oh and a couple stud athletes help too) :smile:
This. I finish my h.s. career playing 11 man with a total of 14 players (9-12) on the roster. Twenty years later my school went to 8 man. It wasn't an option back then... but I wish it would have been.
