High school football: Alden-Hebron joins with 5 schools to form Illinois 8-Man Football Association

John Lalor sees a day in the not-too-distant future when smaller schools will be lining up to join the Illinois 8-Man Football Association, possibly pushing its membership toward 30 teams.

For now, the Alden-Hebron athletic director and football coach is pleased to have six charter members of the new I8FA, which will help with scheduling purposes and offer postseason playoffs for the top four teams.

Lalor announced Friday that A-H, Rockford Christian Life, Elgin Westminster Christian, Champaign Judah Christian, Lake Forest Academy and Milford will be starting the I8FA next season. Milford’s school board plans to approve the plan at its meeting next week.

“We want to provide an easier way to schedule and get teams involved,” Lalor said. “And we also want to provide some type of reward, some type of playoff system at the end of the year. It gives us viability.”

Lalor, whose school went to eight-man football last season, believes the trend will become more popular among smaller schools with numbers issues.

“I really think by 2020 there could be as many as 25 to 28 teams that will switch over to eight-man football,” Lalor said. “It’s the way that a lot of us are going to have to stay alive. If we (at A-H) were trying to play 11-man, we’d be shutting our football program down. We just don’t have the numbers.”

Lalor cited the growing focus on head trauma as a deterrent to potential players, as well as the physical demands of the sport.

“When you have to play kids up who really aren’t ready to play varsity football, they take a beatdown, and it really isn’t fun,” Lalor said. “That’s where a lot of little schools lose [numbers]. This has definitely been a lot better and safer experience for our younger kids because we’re not throwing three kids out on the field to get to 11 who have no business being on a varsity football field. Once schools realize that, they’re going to say, ‘Wow, this is a much better option. We’re not putting kids in a bad spot.’ ”

The eight-man games are played on fields that are
40 yards wide, 15 yards narrower than a normal field. The I8FA asks for a $250 fee to join and $150 annually to retain membership. Only schools with fewer than 400-student enrollments will be eligible for the playoffs.

Because most schools are IHSA members, Lalor said the organization has been in contact with Sam Knox, the IHSA assistant executive director in charge of football.

Nate Albaugh, a former assistant coach at Johnsburg and former head coach at Milford and Champaign Central, is starting a program at Judah Christian. Lalor said Albaugh was excited about the opportunity and felt a Champaign school playing eight-man could help spread the word in the southern part of the state.

A-H, Christian Life, Westminster Christian, Lake Forest Academy and Illinois School for the Deaf were the teams playing eight-man football in Illinois last season. Lalor hopes ISD also will join the I8FA, although the school has commitments to deaf schools from surrounding states. Lalor hopes the I8FA can fill ISD’s other open schedule spots.

The Giants were 3-6 in their first season of eight-man football. They played Lake Forest Academy and Christian Life each twice and had three Wisconsin teams on their schedule.

A-H’s players enjoyed their experience with a slightly different game.

“I loved it,” senior running back-defensive back Mason Mindham said. “It was still football, and it gave a tiny school like Hebron a chance to still play football. When you were out there playing, it didn’t feel any different than 11-man.”

Senior Justin Steele, who played running back and defensive back, agreed.

“I was excited for it,” he said. “With our small town and small numbers, I was worried that we wouldn’t even have a football team. They take away three guys, but when they narrow the field, it felt like 11-man. It felt the same. If you’re low on numbers and, God forbid, injuries happen, you still have more guys to line up. You can have 14 and still play.”