Eight is enough: East Central faces growing pains with 8-man football program

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By Andrew Petersen | Saturday, September 06, 2008 |

Preston football players run drill during a recent practice for the eight-man team. (John Schultz/Quad-City Times) Buy this Photo

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Long grass covers the field, shaved down in 5-yard increments.

Only one goalpost is in the ground, but East Central High School football coach Rick Meisner isn’t complaining.

He has players at his practice, and at the moment, that’s enough.

After two years of partnering with nearby Preston to field a conventional 11-man football program, East Central joins its Jackson County neighbor in the eight-man mix this fall.

“When you want to talk about starting from scratch, this is it,” Meisner said.

East Central and Preston join District 4, which features nine eastern Iowa schools, all in their first year of eight-man.

The eight-man game, born in Nebraska amid the Great Depression, had its place in Iowa until the late 1950s. As small schools have gotten even smaller, though, the football twist experienced a rebirth a decade ago and fully returned in southwest Iowa in 2000.

It has crept eastward in years since, giving districts what most see as a final shot at the saving their football programs.

“What we’re all trying to do here is keep football alive,” Meisner said. “If the program dies now, we won’t get it back.”

The communities

Miles and Preston lie just 4 miles apart on Iowa Highway 64.

The result of that proximity was a longstanding rivalry. In 2006, though, competition turned into cooperation as the schools joined forces to form a Class 1A team.

Success was limited as Preston/East Central pieced together a 2-16 record in its brief existence.

“We didn’t get much accomplished,” Preston junior Shawn Assenmacher said. “It’s pretty cool just to get our name back.”

Community pride played an enormous role in reestablishing the two programs.

More than half of East Central’s 19 team members didn’t play last year. Neither Kevin Behr at Preston nor Meisner has as many players as he would like, but the 45 participants in the two programs is significantly more than last year.

East Central quarterback Nate Wall thought about playing after a frustrating freshman season and ultimately sat out last year. Now a junior, he’s eager to carry on as a Raider.

“I regretted most definitely not going out, but I wanted our programs to split,” Wall said. “This is better for the school.”

But it isn’t easy.

The struggle

With more than two dozen players, Behr has a foundation at Preston.

If he had to field a traditional 11-man team, that would be different.

“This is a little easier,” he said. “We’re not stretched so thin. In Iowa, these smaller schools, this is the logical choice.”

Meisner isn’t as comfortable.

After 29 interested students attended the initial team meeting last spring, 10 didn’t follow the commitment any further.

Six of the remaining players are academically ineligible for the first five games of the season. Add in an injured running back, and Meisner is down to 13 bodies.

As a result, he’s hesitant to allow much contact in practice, especially as the boys basketball coach. Four of his football starters also play basketball.

“Still the biggest adjustment is worrying every day if I’ll have enough kids,” Meisner said. “I welcome the day when Xs and Os are my biggest worry.”

The game

Big-picture concerns aside, the players and coaches spent the summer learning a new sport.

The object is unchanged and the rules are nearly identical. A look at the players lined up on the field reveals another level of complexity.

Down two linemen and a skill player — often a receiver — everyone involved has to reassess their perspective and sense of spacing.

Preston running back Kyle Feller took some time for his eyes to accept what they saw.

“You see the three blockers there, and it looks like you’re in trouble,” he said. “But then you realize the defense has the same number of guys.”

Last year’s co-op squad often worked out of a shotgun formation. Don’t expect either Preston or East Central to go that route much, although it’s not out of the question.

Running will be much of the focus, but if the passing attack gets hot, it will be embraced. Scoring is a must in a sport with fewer defenders covering nearly as much ground.

The future

School officials hope the game has staying power.

Since eight-man football’s return to Iowa, no school that has adopted the format has gone back to 11 players.

“We could get a few more kids out,” East Central athletic director Duane Garien said. “But we’re a small school with a low number of boys and low participation.

“We’re not going to get more kids in the future, any of us.”

So the goal is preservation.

Ultimately, a football program isn’t likely to dictate school consolidation, which is happening at an ever-increasing rate across Iowa.

The students know it’s a possibility.

“What I see happening in the next two generations is our school, Northeast and Preston becoming one school,” East Central senior Bobby Bohannon said.

That’s an issue he will contemplate more down the road.

With little time left before Friday’s opener — East Central hosts Preston — Bohannon and his teammates are getting in as much conditioning as they can. Part of that regimen involved carrying the yet-to-be-installed goalpost from the weedy practice area across the field and back.

When it’s standing upright Friday night, any concerns about what lies ahead will seem distant.

Andrew Petersen can be contacted at (563) 383-2288 or apetersen@qctimes.com.

Key differences between 11-man and 8-man football
Size of field
11: 100 yards long, 160 feet (53.3 yards) wide	8: 80 yards long, 40 yards wide
Offensive alignment
11: Must be seven men on line and five are ineligible receivers.	8: Must be five men on line and three are ineligible receivers.
Touchbacks
11: Ball placed at 20-yard line	8: Ball placed at 15-yard line

A look at football classes across Iowa
Class	No. of teams
Eight-man	64
Class A	58
Class 1A	58
Class 2A	64
Class 3A	64
Class 4A	48

Smallest high schools in QC area
School	Enrollment*	Team
Calamus-Wheatland	119	Co-op with Central DeWitt
East Central	106	Eight-man
Preston	83	Eight-man
Andrew	79	Co-op with Maquoketa
Prince of Peace	72	Co-op with Clinton
Bellevue Marquette	67	Co-op with Bellevue
* Enrollment reflects grades 9-11