mechanics for 8 man football

[IFL football]

Hi.
first time for me in this forum. i have so many questions to ask....
i guess its never too late to start.
in the IFL, we run 8 man game. do you know where can be a good place to get information about officiating this game version?
i think the rules and mechanics are different.

thanks,
Ben.

[Reffing Rev.]

In Nebraska we run a lot of 8-man games in the rural areas.

The rules differences are printed in the back of the book.

5 on the line, no numberring requirements. 80 yard field, touchback/safety ball put in play at the 15. TIck marks at 7 yards instead of 9. Kickoff from the 30.

As far as mechanics no real difference in our area. You stil have 5 eligiible receivers (including the QB) so keys don't really change. When wings pinch in to mark a spot they are generally close enough to the U to relay the ball directly to the U without triangulating with R or BJ, because the field is narrower.

[KWH]

Not all states play 8-Man games on the 80-yard field, in fact I would venture to guess the 80-yard version seems to be the exception.
Many states play 8-Man football on a regulation 100-yard field.

It would be interesting to see a survey (with results) on that...

[Huskerblue]

Having played and officiated the 8-man game, I just have one suggestion. GET IN SHAPE!!! These games are wide open. Lots of scoring. Lots of long runs. Mechanics are the same as 11 man for the most part.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by Huskerblue

Having played and officiated the 8-man game, I just have one suggestion. GET IN SHAPE!!! These games are wide open. Lots of scoring. Lots of long runs. Mechanics are the same as 11 man for the most part.

We do 9-man in ND on 100 yd regulation fields. I did two games in a row as a wing in a dome on the carpet. The teams now run a lot of spread offense. I think the point total for the 2 games was well over 200 pts. Next time I will volunteer to be the U!

Originally Posted by Huskerblue

Having played and officiated the 8-man game, I just have one suggestion. GET IN SHAPE!!! These games are wide open. Lots of scoring. Lots of long runs. Mechanics are the same as 11 man for the most part.

No kidding! I had a Varsity weekend (Friday night and Saturday afternoon) where the combined scores were almost 300 points! Needless to say, I was so exhausted attending the Huskers game that Saturday night, I was sick after our post-game bar run!

[Huskerblue]

NU must have played Misouri that night huh???

Originally Posted by KWH

Not all states play 8-Man games on the 80-yard field, in fact I would venture to guess the 80-yard version seems to be the exception.
Many states play 8-Man football on a regulation 100-yard field.

It would be interesting to see a survey (with results) on that...

Nebraska and Iowa both require the game to be played on 80-yard fields, and will actually put a special tape down on 100-yard field for 8-man games in the playoffs. I've actually worked an 8-man game on an 11-man field which was taped during the regular season.

One thing you DON'T want is to play 6-man on an 11-man field. That would be like playing basketball on a football field!

[Ref inSoCA]

Originally Posted by KWH

Not all states play 8-Man games on the 80-yard field, in fact I would venture to guess the 80-yard version seems to be the exception.
Many states play 8-Man football on a regulation 100-yard field.

It would be interesting to see a survey (with results) on that...

8-man here is played on an 80-yard field. A few years ago, I worked an 8-man game on a 100-yard field--final score--90-46.

[DonInKansas]

8 man, 80 yards in Kansas.

[Rich]

They are talking 9-man in Wisconsin as a possibility for smaller schools.

All I know that I'm interested in working these games only if they hire my entire (5) crew to work. Otherwise, I'll continue to book 11-man football for Friday nights.

Originally Posted by Ref inSoCA

8-man here is played on an 80-yard field. A few years ago, I worked an 8-man game on a 100-yard field--final score--90-46.

I had a final score with about the same total on an 80-yard field on more than one occasion. I don't think it has to do with the field size (although in most cases it probably does), but more or less the type and strength of the offenses and the "weakness" of the defenses in the game.

[Texas Aggie]

In 6 man games in Texas, we don't really want or need an umpire. I'd probably use 4 wings before I used 3 in the middle for 5 man. There's just not enough room for a guy in the middle of the passing lanes and getting to the LOS just keeps him in the way. Plus, there isn't much for him to do besides spot the ball. The BJ has everything deep and the wings have everything on their side. The R has what's left -- in the tackle box, if you want to call it that --which at most has 3-4 players.

[Ref inSoCA]

Originally Posted by Ref inSoCA

8-man here is played on an 80-yard field. A few years ago, I worked an 8-man game on a 100-yard field--final score--90-46.

I neglected to mention the number of officials. 8-man games get regular 5-man crews. The same crews that work the big schools.