Ready for some eight-man football?
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) has decided that its ready. The MHSAA's representative council at its annual spring meeting this month approved a plan for the eight-player playoff division.
If at least 20 schools commit to the eight-player format, the MHSAA will sponsor a 16-team, four-week playoff starting in 2010. If more than 40 schools commit, the state will set up a 32-team, five-week playoff.
Schools with a maximum enrollment of 223 for the 2009-10 school year will be eligible for eight-player football. The MHSAA will comply with National Federation playing rules. The field is still 100 yards long goal-line to goal-line but it's only 40 yards wide.
“The option of an eight-player division will benefit our smaller schools which have struggled to maintain sufficient numbers to sponsor football programs, and at the same time create an opportunity for other members of similar size to offer the football experience,” MHSAA executive director Jack Roberts said in a statement.
State officials expect to get enough interested teams to play eight-man football.
“We think we can get there. There's enough interest in the Thumb, in the Upper Peninsula and there seems to be some interest to the southwest,” said John Johnson, MHSAA communications director. “It's a very interesting mix of schools. Most of your schools I think to begin with are those looking to preserve the Friday night experience and to preserve it on their own and to not go into co-ops (between schools).
“That community identity thing with the football thing in some places is absolutely critical. They don't want to wear the color of their rivals that they played for so long. That has literally sunk some co-op applications over time. If a school is able to preserve the Friday night experience on their own and they feel they can sufficiently put out the numbers so they can have a quality opportunity to play. They're not as concerned about the wins or the losses. Those are the types of things that can take care of themselves. The quality of the experience can dramatically differ between eight-man and 11-man.”
Johnson said the attraction of eight-man football for various communities is twofold.
“You have those schools trying to preserve their options. You have a growing number of schools that may see eight-man football as a way to introduce the sport into their communities and to make their schools even more viable,” he said. “Everybody right now is trying to look for something that will make them attractive to the general public. If you're a charter school starting up and you only have 100 to 150 kids, trying to field an 11-man team with no feeder system, no previous experience might be a daunting task. Eight-man, though, might be just what you need.
“We'll see sponsorship come out of two distinctly different groups: groups trying to save football and groups trying to start football. I don't think you'll see, for example, teams that year in and year out that are solid programs from among our Class D schools giving up the 11-man game. This is for those people meeting another set of circumstances.”
Johnson said the current playoff system for 11-man football will continue.
“Some people might see some of the numbers shift,” he said. “If all of your eight-man schools come from Class C enrollment, you might see some Class D schools leave the field of 620 schools right now playing football.”
Johnson indicated the current system of picking the 256 teams that make the 11-man football playoffs — based on number of wins, strength of schedule, etc. — will be used for setting up the eight-man playoff format.
Johnson noted that six-player football is in four states including Texas while eight-man is in 15 states and nine-man is in five states.
Johnson said the decision in Michigan to go with the eight-man format was based on feedback from schools including at informational meetings in January and February.
“All of the formats were discussed,” Johnson said.
Baseball Notes
* East Grand Rapids was a state championship power in football and is proving to be a contender in baseball. The team is 20-4 thanks in part to the bat of Chris Blair, who belted his ninth home run of the season last week in a 14-4 victory over Greenville. The 11-1 league record puts East in a tie with Lowell for first place in the O-K White Conference.
* Remus Chippewa Hills clinched a conference championship the spectacular way with a no-hitter.
Jake Wernette tossed a no-hitter for the Warriors last week in the opener of a Central State Activities Association (CSAA) doubleheader with Stanton Central Montcalm. Erik Tarbell threw a complete game in the nightcap for Chippewa Hills, which ended the league season at 15-1. The Warriors are 26-4 overall.
“We had an eight-game week last week. We came back and swung the ball well against a pretty decent ballclub,” Chippewa Hills coach Ben Wright said. “With a one-game lead, we knew we needed to take two. We didn't want to share. We wanted to announce our presence with authority and got two.”
* Chris Gebera set a school record for Troy, a Detroit area school, with his 13th home run of the season in Troy's 7-0 and 12-2 doubleheader sweep over Fenton.
Softball Notes
Detroit Renaissance claimed its fifth Public School softball championship in a row and 10th in the last 12 years by defeating Cass Tech, 3-1 on Friday. Detroit Renaissance hasn’t lost a game in the PSL regular season or tournament since 2004.
Kelly Scruggs pitched a complete-game two-hitter, striking out 12.
