MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 As of the 2022 football season, there are 32 teams playing 8-Man football in the MSAIS. I would estimate close to half of the teams playing 8-Man football now were playing 11 man 5 years ago. While it is understandable that a decline in enrollment numbers for some schools and not being able to field enough players has forced some teams to resort to 8-Man football, some teams are taking advantage of this. For example, there are 10 teams currently playing MSAIS 3A football (smallest 11-Man classification in MSAIS). Many of these teams have about the same enrollment numbers as some of the larger 8-Man schools. Thus, they struggle to schedule competitive games because there is a lack of schools that they match up with in team size. To prove my point, Benton Academy (MSAIS 3A) dresses out about 15-20 players on their varsity team. Canton Academy, who they play in the same district with, dresses out around 40 players. Another team that could be used as an example would be Sylva-Bay (MSAIS 3A), which dresses out around 20 players on their varsity team, plays in the same district as Centreville, who has around 35-40 players. Many small schools like Benton and SBA do not want to resort to 8-Man football because they feel it would hurt enrollment even worse. Teams with similar enrollment that are dropping down to 8-Man is making it hard for schools with thin numbers like them to compete in 11-Man. According to Maxpreps, which may or may not be accurate, Manchester (MSAIS 2A 8-Man) dresses out 22 players. Newton Academy, who just recently moved down to MSAIS 2A 8-Man, dresses out around 23 according to Maxpreps. I personally would say these teams are capable of playing 11-Man. So, hypothetically to fix this problem, what if MAIS made a limit on 8-Man teams when they reclassify in 2023? Possibly they could base it on male enrollment like they do other classes, and that could allow some of these 8-Man teams with a larger enrollment to come back up to 11-Man. It would allow more competition for some of the smaller schools that are still playing 11-Man, plus it would appeal more to students who are looking to transfer from other schools that do not want to go from playing 11-Man to 8-Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 Here is an article that highlights the subject: https://impact601.com/news/bowling-green-firepower-too-much-for-a-thin-sylva-bay-roster/article_99b1de9e-378e-11ed-88bf-bb80b4e52cfb.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Manchester used to have 34 on their 8 man roster. I think if your enrollment is above a certain threshold you must play 11 man. Benton is dirty as hell btw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWammies Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 2 minutes ago, Arashatora said: Benton is dirty as hell btw I couldn’t agree more. Always has been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAnswer Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Rumor is that Manchester’s board has voted to go 11 man for the upcoming realignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAnswer Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Also, the average roster size of all current 8 Man schools is 24. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 3 minutes ago, TheAnswer said: Also, the average roster size of all current 8 Man schools is 24. I think Sylva-Bay has around 21 on their roster currently playing 11 man. Benton has less than that. Both have had to schedule numerous 4 & 5A’s because of the lack of small 11 man teams left. Not sure if either school is considering moving down to 8 Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 I’ve seen Delta Streets and Winona who play in MSAIS 3A also and they both looked to have around 20-25 players on their respective rosters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 7 minutes ago, MAISfanatic said: I’ve seen Delta Streets and Winona who play in MSAIS 3A also and they both looked to have around 20-25 players on their respective rosters Delta Streets only has about 60 total students. Winona has around 35 dress out but some are 9th grade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 minute ago, Arashatora said: Delta Streets only has about 60 total students. Winona has around 35 dress out but some are 9th grade I saw Winona in a jamboree and they looked thinner than 35 but may have picked up some guys since then plus 9th graders. What about Central Holmes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 (edited) 7 minutes ago, MAISfanatic said: I saw Winona in a jamboree and they looked thinner than 35 but may have picked up some guys since then plus 9th graders. What about Central Holmes? I was told they'd have 34, only 28 on roster Central Holmes I'm not sure about, haven't seen them play in a few years. Edited September 19, 2022 by Arashatora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBdude Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Newton playing 8 man is a joke. Would of never happen if Roberts was still there. I respect the heck out of Sylva Bay, Benton etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 4 minutes ago, FBdude said: Newton playing 8 man is a joke. Would of never happen if Roberts was still there. I respect the heck out of Sylva Bay, Benton etc. Benton has around 24 total. How many does Sylva Bay have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 6 minutes ago, Arashatora said: I was told they'd have 34, only 28 on roster Central Holmes I'm not sure about, haven't seen them play in a few years. From what i’ve seen Central Holmes has a respectable team for their size. Only lost to Clinton Christian by 10 who is really good compared to previous years but has played a really tough schedule. Them and Winona should be good this Friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Just now, MAISfanatic said: From what i’ve seen Central Holmes has a respectable team for their size. Only lost to Clinton Christian by 10 who is really good compared to previous years but has played a really tough schedule. Them and Winona should be good this Friday Clinton added multiple players after week 2. They're far better now than they were. Winona should win by 2 tds or more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 5 minutes ago, FBdude said: Newton playing 8 man is a joke. Would of never happen if Roberts was still there. I respect the heck out of Sylva Bay, Benton etc. I heard Newton might possibly be trying to go back up to 11 man when they reclassify ,but I have no evidence of that. They are having a lot of success in 8-Man also so that could be a factor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 minute ago, Arashatora said: Clinton added multiple players after week 2. They're far better now than they were. Winona should win by 2 tds or more Sylva-Bay dressed out 21 against Bowling Green Friday night Did not know that though. I was just guessing Central Holmes was alright based off that. Never seen them play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 minute ago, MAISfanatic said: Sylva-Bay dressed out 21 against Bowling Green Friday night Did not know that though. I was just guessing Central Holmes was alright based off that. Never seen them play That's the rumor going around. I was told by a pretty knowledgeable source, but definitely doesn't mean it's true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 minute ago, Arashatora said: That's the rumor going around. I was told by a pretty knowledgeable source, but definitely doesn't mean it's true. They got beat by Winston 28-7 at home. Tri-County and Brookhaven beat them by 30+ but all those teams are a lot bigger in numbers and have more talent I would guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 2 minutes ago, MAISfanatic said: They got beat by Winston 28-7 at home. Tri-County and Brookhaven beat them by 30+ but all those teams are a lot bigger in numbers and have more talent I would guess Yeah. Just telling what I was told. Who knows, MAIS is such a mess right now with rampant recruiting and no apparent rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 11 minutes ago, Arashatora said: Yeah. Just telling what I was told. Who knows, MAIS is such a mess right now with rampant recruiting and no apparent rules Agreeed. Maybe someone important will see my point and look into it because the number of small schools in the MSAIS still playing 11-Man football is getting smaller and even though 8-Man is a good alternative there is a big margin of the 32 teams participating in it that have the roster size to play 11-Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 hour ago, TheAnswer said: Rumor is that Manchester’s board has voted to go 11 man for the upcoming realignment. I've heard this as well. Be interesting to see if it comes to fruition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAnswer Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 The idea of 8 Man to begin with was a great idea. It was intended to help schools who couldn’t safely field 11 Man teams; then it was taken advantage of. 2 changes need to be made. 1) no championship 2) game roster limit. Enacting those 2 would would greatly decrease the amount of 8 man schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arashatora Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 (edited) I disagree with no championship, but a roster cap makes sense. The issue with a cap is reclassification occurs every two years. Schools would just wait and then have kids join to put them over. Since they're already classified, nothing can happen. Edited September 19, 2022 by Arashatora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAISfanatic Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Arashatora said: I disagree with no championship, but a roster cap makes sense. The issue with a cap is reclassification occurs every two years. Schools would just wait and then have kids join to put them over. Since they're already classified, nothing can happen. Yeah, I agree that no championship is too far because there truly are some schools that don’t have enough to safely field an 11-Man team but stll want to compete for a championship. I think going off male enrollment and a roster cap might help some, while there still will be ways for teams to work around them. 15 players could be the cap, and they also could have a cap for male enrollment 8-11 and make it really low so only the teams that really do not have enough numbers could participate. Exceptions could be made if school contacts MSAIS and they make an evaluation of the team and roster size. But like you said, some teams would just wait and have kids join to put them over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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