Eight

"Some people try to find things in this game that don't exist, but football is only two things - blocking and tackling."

-Vince Lombardi

Twenty three Missouri schools play eight man football. 

At the fundamental level the game is not any different than the game I played, but the differences sure make a difference. Eight players on a field that is forty by eighty yards. The games are fast paced and can get lopsided early. In eleven man football having a fast kid who can get to the corner or behind the secondary is an advantage. In eight man, the corner is closer to the center and the secondary is usually two line backers who start the play a couple quick steps from behind the line of scrimmage. Tough, disciplined play from the line will win a game, but if it's combined with speed- look for a running clock. 

The game is a little different and so is the atmosphere. Bean and corn fields usually stretch to the horizon. There are chat tracks and trains within ear shot. The crowds, some watching from tailgates or utility vehicles, are small but passionate and knowledgable. Eight man is played in farm country, so you're as likely to see a McMansion driving to the game as a free safety or a team lining up to kick an extra point. 

“You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat. Then you’ve got yourself a team.”

-Bear Bryant

I spent most of this season watching the game on the same field that produced Max Lane, who played for the Patriots' 1996 Super Bowl Team. I watched some great athletes play this season, but I also watched young men of all abilities learn to support each other and overcome challenges. I watched communities support their kids, including the band and cheerleaders from the national anthem till the end of the fourth quarter. I also watched something that I didn't see as much in my own experience as a third string tight end who was small but really slow- one of over five hundred in my graduating class. All sports build camaraderie, but in eight man the platoon mentality is magnified.

What I saw in eight man football is a lot like what I see in the small schools that produce the teams. I see communities where each kid is known and valued.

That difference is valuable in itself.