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Robert P Lewis, Agent 2832 Bella Vista Way Bella Vista, AR 72714 Bus: 479-855-6049 robert.lewis.b2zk@statefarm.com When I say "good," you say "neighbor." P097313 Now that's teamwork. Call me for your insurance needs and see how it feels to be on a #1 team. State Farm Home Of ce, Bloomington, IL Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ® PREP RALLY THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018 4 Eight-man football is back and it's going to be fun What's new in Arkansas high school football this season? Well, there's plenty: new players, new coaches and, in some cases, new stadiums like the one at Bentonville West and Berryville. But the biggest difference is something that hasn't been seen on the Arkansas landscape since the mid-1960s. Eight-man football has returned. "Eight-man football is fun," said Doyle Baker, who coached the first eight-man football team at West Fork. "I came into the gym one day, and there was all of this football equipment lying around. The superintendent said we were starting a football program, and I asked who was going to coach it. He said 'you are.' We won two games our first year and thought we had really accomplished something. I'm glad it's back." Many rural schools in Arkansas played eight-man football until 1965. But with enrollment declining at a number of small schools through- out the state, Decatur led the charge to allow the formation of eight-man football again. The Arkansas Activities Association agreed and five schools — Decatur, Augusta, Little Rock Epis- copal, Hermitage, Woodlawn — will play home and away games in eight- man football as a club sport for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. As more teams adopt eight-man football, it likely will regain its status as a sanctioned sport. Decatur will play a nine- game schedule, beginning with Hermitage on Aug. 31. Arkansas Christian Acade- my and Arkansas School for the Deaf will play a limited amount of games this season. "We are very excited about the op- portunity for eight-man football," said Toby Conrad, the athletic director and high school and middle school princi- pal at Decatur. "This will save football for several schools that cannot field an 11-man squad each year, and it will bring football back to some schools that have lost it in recent years. This year, there are six teams statewide playing it, and about 14 others teams that will probably play it next year or the year after for sure when the two- year cycle for football divisions starts over. At that point, the AAA has said it should be a sanctioned sport in Ar- kansas." Games in eight-man football are of- ten high-scoring, but fans should not mistake eight-man football for being less legitimate than 11-man football. If anything, the fundamentals of blocking and tacking are even more important in eight-man football. "We placed a lot of emphasis on form tackling," said Wayne Carnah- an, who played quarterback and line- backer on eight-man teams at Prairie Grove. "If the ball carrier got outside and turned the corner, then it was a footrace down the field. You can't arm tackle. You've got to bring him down before he gets loose." The landscape has changed since Prairie Grove was a member of the last full-fledged eight-man league, which also included Gravette, Decatur, Pea Ridge, Greenland, West Fork, Moun- tainburg and Lincoln. Pea Ridge, Prai- rie Grove and Gravette are Class 4A schools with increasing enrollments. But that growth spurt hasn't reached Decatur, which has forfeited games and often scrambles for players just to be- gin the season. That shouldn't be a problem this year for the Bulldogs, who have about 20 players ready to play football. "It was also a safety issue for our students having to play much bigger schools with 30-40 kids on their roster when we were having 13-15," Conrad said. "Now, because we can and will be more competitive with similar size schools, we have more students look- ing forward to playing football again." Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@nwadg. com or on Twitter @NWARick. RICK FIRES COMMENTARY "We are very excited about the opportunity for eight-man football. This will save football for several schools that cannot field an 11-man squad each year, and it will bring football back to some schools that have lost it in recent years." — Toby Conrad, Decatur athletic director and high school and middle school principal