Chenango County has seven high school football programs and of those seven, three – Unadilla Valley, Sherburne-Earlville and Oxford – switched to the 8-man format, instead of the traditional 11-on-11 game, that most have been used to for years.
There are not many differences to the two styles of play. 
The size of the field is reduced along with the number of players. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is sticking with the common 120-yard long, 53 1/3-yard wide fields at high schools or off-campus venues.
Offenses are required to line up five players on the line of scrimmage, instead of the seven required in traditional football.
The games are still played as 12-minute quarters. All current kicking plays in the game and the rules are the same.
The strategy of the game is where the game changes the most because of the speed. According to Art Rigas, Unadilla Valley’s head coach, the game is played much faster.
“You rely a lot more on your position players and their quickness of getting to the ball or making the play,” said Rigas, who will be coaching his second season in the 8-man division of Section IV.
While the switch to 8-man was not preferred by all or any of those coaches, they have adapted over the past season and are preparing for the upcoming campaign – which will officially open on August 29 with the first day of practice.
The reason for the switch to 8-man football for the three schools in our area are because of the decreased number of athletes that are coming out for try-outs before the season begins.
Most schools in New York State are still playing – or at least trying to play – the 11-on-11 game. However, Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director, has stated that 8-man football is gaining momentum all over.
“I think the reason why [8-man football] is gaining the momentum is because of the fact that a community can still maintain it’s identity and still have competitive football at the school,” said Zayas. “If some of the schools throughout the state wanted to continue to play 11-man with the decreased numbers they have, they could go ahead and merge with another school.
“However, now that they are merged, they tend to lose some of the community value that they have earned over the past few decades.”
Common Misconceptions
Many think that participation numbers are low due to kids not wanting to put down their video game controllers or their phones because they would rather have a social life than play sports in school.
Others think that their son or daughter is going to get hurt playing a sport so parents are putting a restriction on the games their child plays or don’t allow their child to play at all.
Dr. Zayas stated while yes, these are contributing aspects to the low numbers across the state, they are not the biggest reasons.
The NYSPHSSA executive director believes that the biggest factor of this decrease is due to an athlete specializing in a sport when he or she or the child’s parents believe they are going to receive a college scholarship in the said sport.
“This is a large misconception with many athletes of our state,” said Zayas. “Kids are playing just one sport, believing they have a better opportunity to get that NCAA Division-I scholarship in baseball or basketball when in fact, they have a higher percentage of signing a scholarship to play football in college.”
Zayas stated that on average, college baseball and basketball teams only have 8-10 scholarships available while a college football team has between 75 to 80.
Another misunderstanding when it comes to sports, especially football, is that the athlete is going to get hurt because of it being a full-contact sport.
“An athlete is more likely to get injured in a car accident on their way to practice than they are in the game of football,” Zayas said. “Yes, there are those injuries that cannot be avoided but the way coaches are taught to instruct their players on the proper techniques have come a long way to prevent more injuries.”
Studies have been done that show if a child is specializing in one sport and not playing others, the athlete is more likely to get hurt because of a move they do that is out of the ordinary for their sport.
For instance, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is common in a basketball player because they way they cut and jump all the time, damages the knee but the knee does not have the muscular support around the area. That is because those surrounding muscles aren’t getting trained.
Playing more than one sport ends up helping the athlete in the long run.
The future of 8-man in the state
While many of the coaches in the area are hoping their program will stay with the traditional 11-on-11 style or regain that format to their program. Many who follow the sport could see the change to 8-man in the near future as participation numbers continue to decrease across the state.
A historic state powerhouse Class D team out of Section VI, the Maple Grove Red Dragons, were recently forced to drop to down to the 8-man game. This team has two state titles in their history (1998 and 2008) and has reached the state championship game in 2016 and 2017.
With a very recent history of having success, one would not think that a dominating program has to drop down because of the numbers game.
The 8-man style of play is something that football fans everywhere may want to get familiar with.