On a Friday evening on a football field in Monticello, parents and fans gathered to see a new era of football begin in Utah.

Eight-player football kicked off in the state for the very first time as the Rich Rebels claimed the win over Monticello, 26-20, beginning competition in 1A’s new eight-player football classification. In many ways, it was the same football that both communities were fighting desperately to keep playing, but in other ways, it was a transition process in the making, one that has saved, and is saving, football programs across the state.

“It did have a different feel, but it was a positive feel,” Monticello coach Reed Anderson said. “The vibe, from the players, from the staff, really anyone that’s been part of our community for a while now, they know that this is the direction we needed to take, and we finally did it. Overall, Friday night was a very surreal feeling.”

The Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) sanctioned eight-player football earlier in 2022 after years of discussion regarding it, Assistant UHSAA Director Brenan Jackson said. Discussions in previous years usually ended, he said, when too few teams would commit to playing eight-player football, opting for regulation (11-player) football instead or just not playing altogether, thus making an eventual eight-player playoff unfeasible.

“Eleven-player football is pretty daunting, and especially with the teams we had to play,” Anderson said. “Football across Utah has gotten a lot better over the last 15 years where we have some really good teams that are coached really well, so now size is starting to matter more than it’s ever mattered. These schools that have wanted to play would never have been able to jump into the 11-player game.”

The tall order of 11-player football was forcing many schools, Rich and Monticello included, to pursue UHSAA independence and play a large portion of their schedule outside of Utah against schools along the Arizona and Colorado borders, states with dozens of teams playing smaller styles of the game.

Jackson, who sits on the National Football Rules Committee, spoke with other states with experience in limited-player football for input. “The thing that all of them said was, ‘Get it started, and get the opportunity available for the kids, and it will grow,’” Jackson said. “That’s what we’re hoping will take place.”

Monticello junior quarterback JD McDonald hands off the ball in the Buckaroos’ Friday game against Rich. Rich won, 26-20. | Provided by Anna Fredericks

Finally, this season, the association secured commitments originally from six schools, which was enough to flesh out the new classification. Rich and Monticello were two of the original commitments, joined by Native American schools Whitehorse and Monument Valley, and two brand-new programs in Water Canyon (Hildale) and Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (Salt Lake City). Late in the summer, Altamont joined in, and just a few weeks before the start of the season, Gunnison Valley entered the mix.

In terms of how the players line up, eight-player football formations on offense will typically have three linemen, a quarterback, and a mix of backs and receivers with the other four spots. Defensive formations will have eight, two or three players each on the line, behind the line and in the secondary. The eight-player football game carries almost the exact same rulebook as a regulation game, with a notable exception that there are no ineligible numbers to catch a pass, Anderson pointed out.

Besides the number of players, the most apparent difference is the playing field, which is lined at 80 yards long from goal line to goal line and 40 yards wide, rather than the regulatory 100 by 53 1/3 yards.

“The first time I painted it, it looked pretty skinny,” Anderson said, “but then when you put eight people out there and you’ve got a sideline and people all over the field, it actually looked fairly normal. If you weren’t counting players, you could probably be easily fooled.”

Speaking of Friday night, Anderson said that game was something of a blind test for both teams, both from having a lack of experience in the new play style, but also with the Rebels having a new coach in Tyson Larsen.

“It was definitely a new game,” Larsen said. “I think we were a little bit unprepared for how different eight-player football would be from 11-player football. It kinda caught us off guard. It still felt like football; it just had a different feel to it.”

Anderson said that he kept his team’s game plan to the basics to avoid getting confused by the style difference, so much so that he felt in retrospect like he oversimplified it.

“I was a little more worried that (confusion) would happen, so I was a little more basic,” Anderson said. “As time goes on, we’ll be a little bit more complex with what we can do.”

For Rich, Friday’s win was not only a great start for a new chapter of Rebel football, but it was also a rare feeling of walking off the field victorious. The Rebels have a proud football history. Larsen was part of their 2009 1A state championship team, and they made at least the semifinals almost every year from then to 2016, winning another title in 2014. Since then, they’ve been on dire straits, winning only six games in five seasons. Larsen hopes the team’s history helps with the transition in the sport.

“That’s what I’m trying to bring to the program, helping kids be competitive and tap into the culture that is in our community,” Larsen said. “I think (tradition) plays a huge part in helping our team adapt.”

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Jackson said the UHSAA has received interest from upward of seven more schools, including an official commitment to the 2023 season from St. Joseph Catholic. It doesn’t come without challenges for schools trying to get involved. Not every school wanting to get involved has equipment, or more importantly, a field and goalposts. Jackson said he’s working toward grants available to help schools get off the ground.

Yet not long after the game ended in Monticello, Jackson got an email from the athletic director, relaying just how powerfully this new opportunity affected their community and many other communities around the state.

Even in a loss, Anderson was full of hope, for the Buckaroos and for the many schools that may join in the future.

“Our kids that have longed to play football for years can now do so.”

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