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Has anyone attended any 8-man football games in Iowa? I always plan on doing so and I think I might head to Cedar Falls Friday morning to watch football all day starting with the 8-Man championship at 9:00am.
I assume most, if not all of the schools that play 8-man are in western Iowa? Correct?
Anyway, I was just wondering what people thought of the 8-man games if they have seen any?
I watched a little bit of the championship game last year (I think) in the dome and it looked a little weird playing on a regulation field with the lines. I assume 8 man teams have their lines made for the size of field they play on. But anyway it was interesting to watch.
I've watched some games this year, wifes brother plays. I went to a 4-A school so to me its not that great to watch, but they just dont have the # of kids to play...hence 8-man.
80-yard field, I think..
I went to a 4A school as well and it just amazes me that Iowa even has 8-man. Makes sense though. The eastern part of the state really forgets about western Iowa a lot!Quote:
Originally Posted by 4429 mcc
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Originally Posted by cyfanatic
western Iowa? you mean like Benton and Tama County right?
j/k... I grew up just north of Cedar Rapids... I learned a heckuva lot about western Iowa geography while at ISU...
That is funny! I have a good friend who lives in Atkins (Benton Coutny) and we tease him all the time about living so far away from Cedar Rapids. I can't say too much about that county because when I was growing up Benton Community used to hand it to my school (Linn-Mar) every once in awhile in football!Quote:
Originally Posted by frontrangeclone
It can be kind of entertaining to watch. If you have a fast running back that can turn the corner quickly you're going to score a lot of points. Most of the time it's on an 80 by 40 yard field but when I was in junior high we played 8 man on the high school's 11 man sized field so there was definitely a lot of room to run there.
North Central Iowa as well. My home town team's been playing it for a few years now. It's kind of a crazy type game - and a speedy running back can break a big run on any play if they can get past the line of scrimmage.Quote:
Originally Posted by cyfanatic
Kickoffs and punts are fun to watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by EggMcClone
My high school was in the inaugural class of Iowa 8-man football and I played it for a couple years. It's a good time. The field is 80 by about 40. It's a good time. It places a bigger premium on speed than 11 man and the games tend to be higher scoring comparatively. It is probably a bit more exciting than 11 man if you like offense. However, at the high school level you will have to keep in mind that the talent on the field is generally going to be inferior to that a 4-A game. These teams play with whatever kids they can get to go out for football rather than having their pick.
It just sounds like it might be a lot of fun to play! I think I might have to go watch the championship Friday.
I agree it can be pretty entertaining. It does look a bit odd the first few games you see compared to 11 man. If you see the state finals on Friday, check out Tyler Tonderum for Armstrong-Ringsted. He scored 6 TD's in the semi-final game. Burners like him can put up some crazy #'s in the 8 man game.
I am an Ar-We-Va alum and went and saw the AWV - AR game on Thursday. Ended 45-42 in overtime. AR scored 14 points in about a minute and a half right before halftime.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jables22
8 man is fun to watch, put five guys on the line instead of 7, have a QB and two backs. AWV runs all sorts of formations, put a center and two guards in the middle, split out two recievers wide on each side about 15 yards off the ball, and two backs who either block or go out to the flats for passes.
It's a great game for smaller schools, as our BEDS enrollment is around 110, and we only have about 25-30 kids out for football in grades 9-12. More schools are switching for next year too, so there should be about 60+ teams across the state. There are getting to be more eastern Iowa schools, like Janesville.
The 8 man game allows the smaller schools to keep their identity and not share with a neighboring school. I'm not sure if Nebraska high schools still do this, but at one time alot of the tinest of tiny schools in western Nebraska played 6 man football.
I was thinking about that yesterday...about keeping your community's name on your jersey. It is cool that these kids don't have to share a football team between two schools. Or drive 30 minutes just to go to practice. Not that long ago Central City and Springville shared a football program (I think they ended that relationship but I could be wrong) and I always thought that would take some of the fun out of it...but at least those kids still got to play the game!Quote:
Originally Posted by garn91