Eight is enough: Fishburne Military is going from the traditional 11-man to 8-man football

WAYNESBORO – With dwindling numbers of students interested in football and a rash of injuries last season, Fishburne Military School has decided to switch from the traditional 11-man football to the eight-man variety.

"It was strictly numbers," Coach Chip Crabill said about the decision.

Numbers in both how many players Fishburne had and how many opponents were available. Fishburne athletic director Steve Wilson said some of the teams the Caissons have played over the years had moved to eight-man football.

Fishburne enrollment 2024

Fishburne's enrollment this year will be approximately 100 students. Fielding a traditional 11-man football roster wasn't easy. The other schools still playing the 11-man game were larger than Fishburne, making it difficult for the Waynesboro school to compete.

Looking at the size of his school and then seeing that there was a successful eight-man league in Virginia featuring schools on a more equal footing with Fishburne, Wilson said switching made sense.

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Crabill said Fishburne only had 23 players on the team last year. Then a few starters got hurt, followed by their backups getting injured.

"They couldn't have a real 11-man practice," Crabill said. "They just couldn't get a solid practice throughout the week so (the school) decided to go to eight-man."

According to MaxPreps, the VISAA 8-man league included 15 schools last year. While most were private, two of the schools — Rappahannock County and Chincoteague — were public. Wilson approached the three private military schools — Randolph-Macon Academy, Quantico and Massanutten Military Academy — that played eight-man football and suggested a four-team military conference.

"We're all going down the eight-man path," Wilson said. "This would allow us to build some rivalry with our other military boarding schools."

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Randolph-Macon to play Virginia schools

Randolph-Macon is located in Front Royal. The past two years they've played schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and even Delaware. The travel wasn't easy, but neither was the travel to other Virginia schools that played the sport. Chris Peter, Randolph-Macon's athletic director said it was tough to field a team even in eight-man when they rode six hours to a game only to lose. Students didn't want to play.

Now, with a military conference in Virginia, Randolph-Macon is returning to playing Virginia schools this year.

"We have really good athletes at our school who just choose not to play football because of (the travel and competition)," Peter said. "My whole interest in this was try to find some people who are also playing eight-man and that are relatively competitive in athletics like us, boarding schools or schools that are smaller."

The four schools will play one another twice, giving them six games each. Fishburne has added two additional games for a total of eight this season.

"When I started to talk about it with the other ADs, it was a no-brainer," Peter said.

What is eight-man football?

Traditionally American football is played with 11 players on offense and 11 on defense. Eight-man just reduces the number by three on each side of the ball.

"It gives kids who go to smaller schools and opportunity to play," Crabill said.

While the rules are mostly similar between the two, there are some changes. The field isn't as wide, only 40 yards inside of 53 1/3 yards. It's still 100 yards long from goal line to goal line.

On offense, there are only five players on the line of scrimmage and three down linemen. Five players are receiver eligible. Defenses also have to adjust their alignment.

Crabiill admits he has a lot to learn about the new style of football.

"Obviously I've never coached eight-man football," he said. "This is my first year. I know timing is something we have to get down, and that includes the timing of our offensive linemen pulling, that means timing of our running backs jab stepping and getting to the handoff correctly. That means timing as far as dropping back and passing. When you don't have as many offensive lineman the pressure comes quicker."

Eight-man football tends to be a more fast-paced, higher-scoring game. That can lead to a lot of excitement, but Crabill wants to make sure his team can control the ball as it learns the new style of play.

"What I've learned from being around 11-man football is you always start with the run game first," Crabill said. "That's what we'll do too. We'll start with the run game and control the clock."

Fishburne will open with Massanutten Military Academy at home on Sept. 6. They'll follow that game with a trip to Fuqua on Sept. 13, home against Quantico on Sept. 20, then three games on the road — Randolph-Macon Academy on Sept. 28, Massanutten Military on Oct. 5, Quantico Oct. 10 — before returning home to finish the regular season against Greenbrier Christian Oct. 18 and Randolph-Macon Oct. 25.

"I'm very excited about it," Crabill said. "I've always thought that Fishburne is a great opportunity for young people to come and get a good solid education, get discipline and also play some sports as well."

— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and on Instagram @hitepatrick . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Eight is enough: Fishburne Military is going from the traditional 11-man to 8-man football