Sweeping changes coming for 1A football

Many philosophies went into switching things up for football, ranging from player safety, a sharp drop in participation numbers and competitive balance.

“I think this new 6-man football division will benefit teams like ours that have small turnouts,” South Wasco County athletic director Jim Hull said. “Now, when we only have 12 kids out, we can practice both sides of the ball at the same time. That is something we have not been able to do in many years. The switch for us was also important because over the last eight or nine years, our turnout has been quite small. This allows us to be competitive with teams much like us.”

The committee also created an enrollment zone between the 1A and 2A classifications, where schools with an adjusted daily admission between 89 and 120 students, so some 2A programs had an option to drop down to the 8-man level or keep playing 11-man.

Among the 63 1A schools, Lowell and Perrydale each have an ADM of 87, the largest, and will stay in the 1A classification, but Echo, with 82, chose to drop to the six-man division.

Dufur (80), Ione (68), Sherman (67) and Arlington (44) are part of the 8-man group, and South Wasco County (67) plans to drop down.

While some schools have ADM numbers to go by to have an option of playing down, some teams with a winning percentage of 22 percent or less in the OSAA’s Colley ranking, which is a team’s rank while playing schools in its own class, or played fewer than 12 in-classification contests over a span of both two and four years, were given the option to play down.

By having more athletes available through the 6-man game, SWC head coach Mike Waine said there is going to be players battling for playing time.

“We do not have enough players to make it competitive within the team for a starting spot,” Waine said. “Now, we may have a little friendly competition for a spot on the starting roster.”

This initial pilot program covers 2018 and 2019 and will not award a state championship.

After the two-year run, the OSAA will get some feedback and gather information as to whether to keep this format long-term.

The 6-man switch for SWC also means learning a different style of football, with teams playing on a field measured at 80-by-40 yards, compared to 100-by-53-1/3.

Added to that, every offensive player is an eligible receiver, and the quarterback or anyone else taking a snap, will not be allowed to cross the line of scrimmage, and teams must gain 15 yards for a first down.

As the fall season approaches, Hull said a meeting is scheduled between his school and the 15 others to iron out any other rule changes.

Waine said he is torn about leaving the 8-man league, but is looking forward to the future under a 6-man format.

Both Waine and assistant coach Michael Carter understand that there are adjustments to be made before next season, not only for SWC.

Waine said he is looking forward to the challenge, as certain offensive and defensive packages that worked in the past may not work in the 6-man game.

“One major positive I take from this decision is that every team in the 6-man league is taking a huge step in player safety,” Waine said. “Obviously, football is a contact sport, but the OSAA and every football team in the state have signed on to a new injury-reducing form of tackling and blocking.”

Last season, Waine had 14 players on the team, with only 24 male students enrolled at SWC, from ninth-through-12th grade.

Those numbers won’t fluctuate much by next fall, especially with only a handful of eighth graders signing up for action for the 2018 campaign.

“At any given time, we had one or two out for one reason or another, so we were unable to scrimmage 8-on-8,” Waine said. “Now, 14 young men on a 6-man team, that is huge. The ability to scrimmage a full 6-on-6, with a couple subs would be fantastic. I also believe that there could be a reduction of injuries in both practice and especially in games.”

SWC is now part of a 12-team Special District 5 division, joining Burnt River, Dayville, Echo, Harper Charter, Huntington, Joseph, Mitchell, Monument, Prairie City, Spray and Wheeler.

Alsea, Gilchrist, Jewell, McKenzie, Powers and Triangle Lake make up the six-man Special District 4.

At the 8-man level, Dufur, Condon, Sherman, Arlington and Ione will be in the 18-team Special District 3, the largest of the three, as Special District 1 has 13 and Special District 2 currently holds 14 teams.

Adrian, Cove, Crane, Elgin, Enterprise, Imbler, Jordan Valley Nixyaawii, Pilot Rock, Pine Eagle, Powder Valley, Union and Wallowa are also in the same district.

With this re-shuffling, changes are expected for playoff berths.

At the 8-man level, four teams from each of the three districts qualify for the postseason, and four more would qualify by the OSAA’s final rankings to form a 16-team field.

Any athlete who sets foot on a field or court wants to compete, so this change gives athletes from smaller schools that chance.

In their previous three seasons, the Redsides posted a 4-18 record, until going 3-3 last year, while playing an independent schedule.

“I have talked to those graduates from that 2016 class, and they laugh and joke about the 60-point losses, but they always tell me how awesome it felt to win that one game (46-6 over Monument-Dayville). By moving to the 6-man league, we hope to be able to make football fun again.”