8-man football has become increasingly more popular the last few years in our area. 30-teams will play 8-man football in Illinois this fall. There will be five, six-team divisions, including first-year 8-man program, Ridgewood Spartans. Spartan head coach Pat Elder likes the set up but expects even better formats in the future.
Besides Ridgewood, other West Central Illinois 8-man programs include the West Central Heat, Bushnell-Prairie City Spartans, West Prairie Cyclones, Galva Wildcats and Peoria Heights Patriots. All those schools will make up the Central 2 Division. West Central had the most successful season of our local teams last fall, going all the way to the i8fa semifinals before losing to the eventual tournament champion Polo Marcos. The Illinois 8-Man Football Association continues to oversee the sport, but the IHSA is continuing to explore the possibility of adding an 8-man state tournament series.
***Story and Audio courtesy of Farm Week Now***
