Nebraska is big in 8-man football, but hardly the only power

It used to be that St. Francis (Humphrey, Neb.) had little trouble shoving any and all Cornhusker Conference Championship pretenders aside on its way through a perfect regular season and deep into the state football playoffs.

But that way of life ended abruptly for the Flyers more than a decade ago, when conference foe Howells (Neb.) grew tired of getting sand kicked in its face. The Bobcats first learned how to beat the Flyers, and then they took over the former bully's swagger and carried it to an even higher level.

Shortly after St. Francis won Nebraska Class D-2 (8-man) state football titles in 1995 and 1996, the Bobcats began a string of six straight Class D-1 (8-man) state championships in 2000. Now after a short two-year stint in Class C2, Nebraska's smallest of four 11-man classifications, Howells is going for its fourth straight 8-man title in 2011. Since the turn of the century, the Bobcats have won 12 of 14 games against St. Francis and ended the Flyers' season six times in the playoffs.

"You know – we've always had good kids here," coach Mike Speirs said of the Bobcat turnaround. "Once we learned how to beat St. Francis it was a matter of figuring out how hard we wanted to work. We just have good kids that have discovered that they can do some amazing things."

With Howells and St. Francis leading the charge, it could be argued that Nebraska is the king of 8-man football nationally. A year ago, CalPreps.com branded the Bobcats (13-0) with its season-ending No. 1 ranking, and placed St. Francis (9-2) at No. 8 after the Flyers lost to Howells twice.

Kansas would like to stake a claim to that argument as well. The Sunflower State fielded 105 8-man football teams collectively between two divisions a year ago and will do it again in 2011. Nebraska will hit the field running with 113 8-man squads this fall.

In those same national rankings, Kansas fielded the nation's No. 3 and No. 4 ranked teams in B & B (Baileyville, Kan.) and Madison/Hamilton (Madison, Kan.) respectively. Tenth-ranked Otis-Bison (Otis, Kan.) was the third Kansas team to finish ranked in the CalPreps Top 10 a year ago.

After knocking heads with Oklahoma in an 8-man all-star football game in 2005, Nebraska has engaged in a border war with a group of Kansas senior all-stars every year since 2008. Kansas won the inaugural contest only to see Nebraska claim three straight, including June's 23-12 triumph over its Kansas counterparts in Hays, Kan.

"The experience has been a lot of fun," Speirs said. "We've been able to build some pretty good relationships. I know the kids have enjoyed the game."

While Oklahoma 8-man football teams have developed a reputation for throwing the ball a little more and Nebraska and Kansas teams are known typically to try and establish power running games, California 8-man football teams consistently offer both flavors.

"Last year's championship game was a mix of two different styles," Faith Baptist (Canoga Park, Calif.) co-head coach John Rasmussen said. "Our (Southern Section) champion Windward played with a lot of speed. They had three players that ran legitimate 4.5 (second) 40s. Runner-up Excelsior relied on a line that probably averaged close to 300 pounds, and tried to pound the ball with its two big backs.

"That's kind of the way it is around here. You just have to adjust to the school you're playing each week."

Rasmussen is no stranger to success on the California 8-man football circuit. His Contender football squads have produced a 55-7 overall record since he and Robert Davidson took over the program from Tom Greer in 2006. A year ago Faith Baptist slugged its way through an 11-1 campaign and earned a No. 7 national ranking. The Contenders' only loss came at the hands of Windward (Los Angeles).

Although his teams have found their way into CalPreps' Top 25 national rankings in each of the past four seasons, Rasmussen said his program may be in a rebuilding mode in 2011 after his son Matthew and 10 other seniors that contributed a year ago graduated last spring.

"We lost eight players that contributed heavily to this program last year," he said. "I think we're definitely in for a rebuilding year. To be honest our goal this season is just to make the playoffs."

With 96 schools that fielded 8-man football teams in 2009, California ranked third out of 16 states that offered the sport. A season ago Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Washington all joined in on the 8-man football fun.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, Oklahoma and Iowa round out the top five with 76 and 62 schools, respectively, that participate in a game that is often thought to be small-town football. Teams based in places like Los Angeles obviously disprove that theory.

While some teams play their version of football on an 80-yard by 40-yard field, 8-man football teams usually eliminate two offensive linemen and a receiver on offense and a pair of defensive backs and a defensive lineman on the other side of the ball.

Rasmussen said its not unusual for Los Angeles-area 8-man football teams to travel as many as three or four hours to compete in an out-of-conference game or in the playoffs. Los Angeles area schools also come with a wide range of enrollments in two different divisions.

Division 1, the largest of the two divisions, offers 8-man football to schools with enrollments ranging anywhere from 100 to 900 students. Although many of these football programs come from what Rasmussen called satellite, or online, schools, he and Avalon (Calif.) coach Earl Schrader estimate that around 300-400 kids still wander the halls of those schools every day.

Schrader, who invented his own job when he started the Avalon football program on Catalina Island, was puzzled as to why some of these schools would even want to play 8-man football.

"To be honest, I don't understand why they aren't playing 11-man football," said Schrader, whose team has to take a nearly two-hour ferry ride to reach the main land. "They just don't, I guess. But it doesn't make sense to me."

La Jolla Country Day (Calif.) star Rashaan Salaam became one of the more recognizable names from the California 8-man ranks after he won the 1994 Heisman Trophy while playing for the University of Colorado. Salaam also played for the Chicago Bears in the NFL.

Nebraska has also helped several 8-man football players move on to bigger and better things after completing their Husker eligibility. Most notable are Dean Steinkuhler, winner of the 1983 Outland and Lombardi Trophies, and Scott Shanle, who now sports a Super Bowl championship ring with the New Orleans Saints.

Steinkuhler played 8-man football at Sterling (Neb.), while Shanle entertained football fans at St. Edward (Neb.).

Led up front by senior linemen Brian Bayer (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) and Jordan Brichacek (6-5, 240), both potential 2012 Division-1 football recruits, this year's Howells team is expected by some to be the most dominant 8-man football team to ever button on the chinstraps in Nebraska football history.

Defensive tackle Nathan Bazata (6-3, 245), a Division 1 prospect in the class of 2013, returns as does Mastny's brother Trent Mastny, who is the state's returning leading rusher after going off for 2,097 yards and 35 touchdowns on just 215 carries as a junior.

Mastny will run behind Bayer and Brichacek in what is thought to be Howells' final season in the 8-man ranks. The Bobcats and conference rival Dodge (Neb.) will consolidate in time for the 2012 season. Their combined enrollment is expected to carry the new school back into the 11-man ranks.

"This is the most hype we've had here in a long time," Trent Mastny said of the upcoming football season. "We have seven starters returning on offense so that puts a little added pressure on us to win (it all) again. And considering we're consolidating with Dodge, we have to finish what we started.

"My brother Matt started this tradition 12 years ago, so we have to finish what they started. We have to get that final 8-man football championship before we move on."