8-Man Football

Arkansas Activities Association Board of Directors sanctions 8-man football.

The Arkansas Activities Association Board of Directors approved sanctioned playoffs and championships for one classification of 8-man football for the 2021 season..

A total of 21 schools have declared for 8-man football this fall. Of those, two 8-team conferences will play a round-robin conference schedule with two teams from each conference advancing to the playoffs. A Class 2A 8-man championship will be crowned on Thanksgiving weekend. Five larger schools will also play 8-man football and will have playoffs and a championship but will not be officially recognized as sanctioned.

This marks the fourth year for the revival of 8-man football with the previous three seasons played as a club sport before this year’s sanctioning by the Arkansas Activities Association. Decatur was the school that started the push for reviving 8-man football in the state four years after forfeiting the final two games of the 2017 season due to having too few players to play the games. The last time that 8-man football was played in Arkansas was 1964 and only by the 1B conference which consisted of schools just in northwest Arkansas: Gravette, Prairie Grove, Gentry, Pea Ridge, Lincoln, West Fork, Mountainburg, Greenland, and Decatur.

Mountain Pine won the unsanctioned playoffs last year, defeating Spring Hill, 62-34, in the championship game. Mountain Pine had 720 yards of offense, including 542 yards rushing. Isaiah Miles ran 15 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns, and Jermaine Dobbins had 13 carries for 179 yards and three scores. The Red Devils were coached by Sam Counce.

In the large school playoffs last year, Little Rock Episcopal beat Subiaco Academy, 54-48, for the unsanctioned championship. Episcopal had 604 yards of offense with 456 of that on the ground. Stephen Munson completed 12-of-16 passes for 158 yards and three scores, and ran for 95 yards and a touchdown. Joel Fleming ran 16 times for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Wesley Wright had 17 carries for 140 yards and two scores. Episcopal finished 7-0 under head coach Michael Carter.

The alignments are as follows:

Class 2A-North
Augusta, Blytheville KIPP, Brinkley, Cedar Ridge, Decatur, Midland, Rector and Western Yell County.

Class 2A-South
Cutter Morning Star, Delta KIPP, Hermitage, Marvell, Mountain Pine, Spring Hill, Strong-Huttig, and Woodlawn.

Class 3A
Little Rock Episcopal, Little Rock Hall, Marshall, Subiaco Academy, and Rose Bud.