TnCatFan Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 At one time, Ky. had 8 Man football. Should it come back into play or is it still around? I ask this because I noticed on the Riherds scoreboard tonight that there were a couple of forfeits around the state and I'm assuming that was due to some of those teams not having enough players to field a team due to injury or whatever. I know teams like Fulton City, Fulton Co and a few others typically only dress 15-20 kids, so, 3 or 4 injuries and they can't field a team. This problem isn't only limited to 1a schools. I've seen 2a, 3a and even 4a teams that struggle to field more than 20 kids. Just seems to me that having that option of 8 man football could be a solution and may could even entice some non playing football schools to start up a program until they could build up a feeder program from the elementary and middle schools.. I could go on, but, I think you can see what I'm trying to say. What's everyones thoughts on this? Would it be a good idea?
Jhall66 Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 How many other states have 8 man football?
WestDanville Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 What in the world is 8-man football? smh Eight-man football - Wikipedia Pretty neat concept. KSD had an 8 man team in the late 90’s and I ran the chains or was a ball boy for most of their home games. It wasn’t much different than 11 man football just had a few less guys on the field.
WestDanville Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 Bethlehem, KCD, Beth Haven, Eminence, KSD, Caverna were the 8 man schools in Kentucky.
Jo-Jo13 Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 I coached at Beth Haven and I loved the concept. We actually won a National Championship there. We played teams from Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee in the Tournament. It is a wide open game, 3 linemen. The Max Gilpen incident at PRP caused the insurance to skyrocket and the school could not afford it. Here is a link to one of the games.
Hip-Hop Box Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 Youth league just started this season in Lexington.
Jumper_Dad Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 Biggest detriment for Kentucky doing this, is that the schools that would probably benefit the most from doing this are so spread out that travel would be ridiculous for most of them just to fill out a schedule.
Bluto Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 LCA's first few years were playing 8-man football. That's when we started a Jr. High team (no feeder system yet, they had to build that over time).
Hatz Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 What in the world is 8-man football? smh Perryville used to play and were very successful at it. Little tidbit for your Boyle County background.
gchs_uk9 Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 The KHSAA never sponsored eight-man football as an all-season sport, but they did sponsor playoffs from 1999-2002. Teams that participated played some 8- and some 11-man games during the regular season. They were considered independents and thus weren't eligible for the playoffs in the respective classes. I'm not sure how the playoffs were seeded, but there were six participants in 1999, eight in 2000, six again in 2001, and then five in 2002. Championship games were played at Kentucky State University, with Eminence winning the first three and Kentucky Country Day winning the last one. Here are the scores from the playoffs each season: 1999 Season First Round @ Kentucky School f/t Deaf 56, Beth Haven 20 @ Kentucky Country Day 34, Caverna 22 Semifinals @ Bethlehem 52, Kentucky School f/t Deaf 30 @ Eminence 60, Kentucky Country Day 25 Championship Eminence 46, Bethlehem 32 2000 Season First Round Eminence 62, Kentucky School f/t Deaf 0 Caverna 40, Allen Central 36 Bethlehem 35, Beth Haven 20 Kentucky Country Day 70, Jenkins 22 Semifinals Eminence 62, Caverna 14 Kentucky Country Day 41, Bethlehem 40 Championship Eminence 52, Kentucky Country Day 34 2001 Season First Round Caverna 40, @ Jenkins 38 (OT) @ Kentucky Country Day 54, Beth Haven 14 Semifinals @ Bethlehem 56, Caverna 6 @ Eminence 48, Kentucky Country Day 36 Championship Eminence 46, Bethlehem 20 2002 Season First Round @ Caverna 60, Jenkins 40 Semifinals @ Kentucky Country Day 55, Caverna 12 Bethlehem 14, Eminence 12 Championship Kentucky Country Day 37, Bethlehem 21
gchs_uk9 Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 Perryville used to play and were very successful at it. Little tidbit for your Boyle County background. Camp Dick Robinson and Paint Lick in Garrard County both played 8-man football in the late-1950s and very early 60s. Mount Vernon, Berea, Eminence, and several others also played.
gchs_uk9 Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 Biggest detriment for Kentucky doing this, is that the schools that would probably benefit the most from doing this are so spread out that travel would be ridiculous for most of them just to fill out a schedule. This is correct. If the KHSAA were to make it an official division, they'd probably want teams to play all 8-man, all-season, unlike back in the early-2000s. As you said, it would be very spread out, however.
gchs_uk9 Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 If I were in charge I'd offer 16 8-man spots and call it Class 1A. Any school with less than 175 males could choose to apply and the 16 smallest of those would get to participate. Then I'd put 40 schools in 2A (this would include small schools not playing 8-man, so the class is smaller), 45 in 3A, 44 in 4A, 44 in 5A, and 32 in 6A. I think it would allow some schools struggling to field and keep teams an opportunity to keep playing. If the interest grew but the schools got smaller you might eventually put more teams in the eight-man class.
ATLCat Posted September 30, 2017 Posted September 30, 2017 The travel is certainly the killer, with that said how about this "Competition Class". Doesn't necessarily have to be 8-man,,, but they have their own playoff and when a team petitions to join one of these teams can petition to replace whatever class they drop out of. Each team would play their District foes twice and can schedule (2) non-district games for 8 total regular season games. The playoffs would start after a BYE week and last four rounds culminating with a "Championship" to be played at a neutral site (dont have to be a big venue, but by that point larger schools should be eliminated from playoffs and may want the gate and concession split) The reduced number of games would help reduce injuries, the doubling of District games would limit travel, and the two games that are open to being scheduled allows historic rivalries to remain in tact. Fulton City Fulton County Webster Co Breckinridge Co Caverna Eminence Hart Co Clinton County Berea Jackson County Trimble County Dayton Jenkins Betsy Layne Sheldon Clark Wolfe County As a side note this solves a secondary problem the KHSAA has with teams not competing for a District and dropping out last minute or choosing to return when they may not be ready (See Sheldon Clark). You basically have to have an opening to play back up. I also think this would be an easy way for new schools to get their program off the ground.
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