Northern 8 Football Conference
The Northern 8 Football Conference is an 8-man football conference that began competition in the fall of 2020 and is made up of 8-man teams from high schools located in Ohio.
Members
[edit]
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Joined League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalker | Wildcats | Southington | Orange, Black |
2024 |
| Danbury | Lakers | Lakeside | Blue, White |
2020 |
| Holgate | Tigers | Holgate | Purple, Gold |
2020 |
| St. Mary Central Catholic | Panthers | Sandusky | Navy Blue, Vegas Gold |
2021 |
| St. Joseph Central Catholic | Crimson Streaks | Fremont | Crimson, Gray |
2024 |
| Sebring McKinley | Trojans | Sebring | Purple, Gold |
2023 |
| Stryker | Panthers | Stryker | Blue, White |
2020 |
Former Members
[edit]| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Christian | Eagles | Toledo | Blue, Gold |
2020-2024 |
History
[edit]The Northern 8 was created in October 2019 when Stryker and Toledo Christian agreed at a meeting to form the league for OHSAA schools that are committing to play 8-man football for the future.[1] The OHSAA does not currently sponsor the 8-man game,[2] but several member schools resorted to that option recently instead of playing the traditional 11-man game or choosing not to play out the season.[3] Stryker and Toledo Christian forfeited their football membership in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, but remained members of the Buckeye Border Conference and the TAAC respectively, for all other sports.
Two other schools that attended the initial meeting would later get board approval to join the league: Holgate agreed to join later on in October 2019[4] and Danbury joined in November 2019.[5] Holgate was ultimately kicked out of the Green Meadows Conference for this decision, but joined Stryker in the BBC for all other sports beginning in 2021.[6] Danbury also remained in the Sandusky Bay Conference's River Division for other sports.
In July 2021, St. Mary Central Catholic was invited to play in the league for two years. The Panthers began play with the 2021 season but intended to get back to 11-man football eventually.[7]
In October 2022, the league announced that Sebring McKinley of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference was invited to join for the 2023 season.[8] The Trojans had similar issues with 11-man football and had only won 37 games between 1993-2022 after posting their last winning record at 6-4 in 1992.[9]
On October 20, 2023, St. Joseph Central Catholic announced their intention to play 8-man football in the N8FC beginning in 2024. They believe this will offer safer competition against schools closer to their size.[10] On November 7, 2023, the conference announced they had admitted SJCC and Southington Chalker into the league, beginning in 2024. Chalker will field a varsity football team for the first time since 2020, as they were not able to field a team in 2021 and played a hybrid JV/8-man schedule in 2022 and 2023.[11]
In December 2024, Toledo Christian announced it would return to 11-man football as an independent in 2025, and will return to the Toledo Area Athletic Conference in 2026.[12]
The league is actively looking for more schools to commit to a two-year membership. They also have not set a definite number of schools to be members, but it seems likely that they would not have more than 10 in the league.[13]
8-Man State Championship History
[edit]2020 - Danbury Lakers (Conference Champions)
2021 - Toledo Christian Eagles (Conference Champions)
2022 - Holgate Tigers (Unofficial State Champions)[14]
2023 - Toledo Christian Eagles
2024 - Toledo Christian Eagles
References
[edit]- ^ Junga, Steve (October 3, 2019). "Area schools establish Ohio's first eight-man football league". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Watkins, Jimmy (September 16, 2019). "SMCC's 8-man football decision part of changing football landscape". Sandusky Register. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Biviano, Dennis (September 19, 2019). "Smaller High Schools Resort to 8-Man Football". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Junga, Steve (October 22, 2019). "Holgate officially joins Northern 8 Football Conference". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Kollars, Brian (November 19, 2019). "Danbury makes move to 8-man football". Sandusky Register. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Calvin, Nate (February 6, 2020). "Holgate To Become Member Of BBC After GMC Votes To Remove School From League". The Village Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Kollars, Brian (July 19, 2021). "Northern 8 announces addition of St. Mary CC football". Toledo Blade. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Keating, Mike (November 1, 2022). "Sebring admitted to Northern 8 Football Conference, will begin 8-man football in 2023". Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "Sebring McKinley All-Time Football Results". Yappi.com. July 28, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ News-Messenger Report (Oct 20, 2023). "Prioritizing safety, SJCC will move to 8-man football in 2024". Fremont News-Messenger. Retrieved Oct 20, 2023.
- ^ Yauger, Brian (Nov 10, 2023). "Chalker to join 8-man league". Tribune Chronicle. Retrieved Nov 10, 2023.
- ^ Junga, Steve (December 4, 2024). "Toledo Christian announces return to 11-man football". Toledo Blade. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ Junga, Steve (October 3, 2019). "Area schools establish Ohio's first eight-man football league". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "'This is a huge step': OHSFCA to host 8-man football state championship in 2023". wtol.com. 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2024-09-23.