8 Player Football Title Game This Saturday
Monday, November 11th, 2019 -- 12:58 PM
The second Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association eight-player football State championship final will be held Saturday, Nov. 16, at Dorais Field in Chippewa Falls, Wis., at 1 p.m.There were 42 programs sponsoring eight-player football in 2019. There are several schools participating in the eight-player program that were ineligible for the post-season tournament because their three-year average enrollment exceeds 200, which is the threshold to be eligible for the eight-player tournament.
LAST YEAR: Sevastopol won the first eight-player football State championship game with a 38-30 victory over Luck. The game was played at Forward Field at Oriole Park in Stanley, Wis. Trailing 30-22 in the fourth quarter, Nathan Stenzel gave Sevastopol its first lead of the game with 4-yard run with 2:08 remaining in the game to break a 30-30 tie and propel the Pioneers to the title.
THIS YEARS MATCH-UP: Last year’s runner-up Luck is back in the title game for the second year. Prior to transitioning to the eight-player option, the Cardinals qualified for the 11-player playoffs 14 times in either Division 6 or Division 7 with an 8-14 playoff record. Their furthest advance in the 11-player playoffs was to Level 3 in Division 6 in 1996 and 1997. Newman Catholic qualified for the eight-player playoffs for the second straight season. Last year, they fell in Level 2 of the playoffs to eventual champion Sevastopol. They made five 11-player playoff appearances and compiled a 2-5 record. Their furthest advance in the 11-player playoffs was to Level 3 in 2010.
KEY DIFFERENCES IN THE 8 PLAYER GAME: In addition to only eight players on the field for each side, the game differs slightly from the 11-player format both in the field configurations and playing rules. The eight-player field is 40 feet (13.3 yards) and the distance between the hash marks are narrower than the 11-player field. The playing rules differ from 11-player in that there must be at least five players on the offensive line of scrimmage at the snap. Each player that is at the end of the line of scrimmage and each of the three players behind the line of scrimmage are eligible and may have any legal jersey number.
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