MAIS 8-Man Football, a hidden gem

Southern Sports & Travel

They’re often overlooked but for a large portion of MAIS student-athletes it is the only opportunity to participate in a sport that they truly love and have a deep rooted passion for.

Since the inaugural 8-Man football season in 2007 the division has mushroomed from seven teams to nineteen today and for some coaches the struggle to just field a team is worth the tireless efforts to provide an opportunity for kids to experience the atmosphere that many others experience each Friday night in the MAIS.

“There’s an old adage,” said Marvell head coach Ben Durham. “If you lose your football team you lose your school.”

Durham is in his first year as Marvell head coach but the 38 year old Indiana native isn’t a stranger to MAIS football. Durham was the head coach at Briarfield Academy in Lake Providence, LA for four seasons from 2008-2011 and went 30-14 during that span.

“We kind of knew that 8-man was coming during my first year there and I wasn’t really sure what that would entail so we had to learn on the fly.”

Briarfield finished their last 11-man season in 2009 with thirteen players, eight were seniors.

“We went out and tried to study as much as we could and started talking with people in states that had deep 8-men football history such as Arizona, California, Oklahoma and Missouri.”

Following the 2011 season Durham moved to south Mississippi to pursue a coaching job but found his way back into the MAIS one year later, this time in Marvell, Arkansas.

“It was a great time at Briarfield,” said Durham. “I wanted back into the MAIS.”

Durham’s initial task at Marvell was just fielding a team and he was able to do that by the slimmest of margins.

With only eight varsity players to start the 2013 season ninth graders had to be rotated back and forth from Marvell’s 11-man junior varsity squad to the varsity team.

“We were thin and I knew there may not be an answer should a few kids get injured so we had to move ninth graders back and forth.”

That opened the door for another predicament of sorts. Should junior varsity players be moved up to keep a varsity team from folding at the cost of not allowing those players the opportunity to fully develop at the junior varsity level first?

It was a tough option to weigh but giving varsity players the opportunity to play on Friday nights seemed to be the right one.

“I want people to understand the fact that this is the only option for these kids to play football,” said Durham.

Misconceptions are rampant with regards to the 8-man division, partly due to a few schools with rosters that exceed twenty players. The fact is that a majority of 8-man squads only have a dozen players and are trying to work with that number for the entirety of a season.

A dozen players on an 8-man roster may seem adequate to many but when one considers the style of football played that number is woefully short.

“Seems as though all the focus is geared towards those few 8-man teams that dress 20+ kids but I’d like the focus to be directed at the majority of schools who are just trying to field a football team.”

The physical demands of 8-man football is under appreciated and this season’s week five game in which Franklin defeated Humphreys 90-64 is a perfect example of the non-stop action displayed each week in the 8-man division.

Not only does 8-man provide opportunities for student-athletes it’s also packed with excitement.

Durham said the biggest challenge as a coach was selling 8-man to the community and the kids.

“I start every parents meeting by telling them that I would prefer they not refer to it as 8-man football but just varsity football. The community sees that the option of fielding a 0-10 Class A team that struggles to score versus an 8-man team that provides lots of scoring is something they can support.”

Another challenge comes by way of the internet and it’s a sore subject with some 8-man coaches who work extremely hard to provide an atmosphere for their players to experience each Friday night.

“I can’t speak for all 8-man coaches but the guys I’m closest to get upset seeing negative comments on message boards about 8-man football when our kids put in just as much work,” said Durham. “If you start a thread somewhere to try and get people excited about what’s going on the negative comments usually follow.”

Marvell fielded 23 varsity and junior varsity players this season, grades 7-12 and while the varsity squad has struggled at times they have won two straight games to sport a 3-5 mark with the season finale coming on Friday against Delta Academy.

The junior varsity team played a full 11-man schedule and finished the season at 6-2 with their only losses coming to Marshall and Tunica.

To say that 8-man football is important to small schools is a huge understatement.

As so poignantly stated by Marvell head coach Ben Durham, “If you lose your football team, you lose your school.”

When you see a member of an 8-man squad doing battle on Friday nights or participating in an MAIS All-Star game give him a much deserved “Shout Out” for wanting to be a part of high school football.