SPORTS
Six-man football is football for those who like speed
Football fans can be traditionalists.
Any other type of football that deviates from anything other than football played with no more or less than 22 men on a field measured exactly 120 by 53 yards is not “real” football.
Even at the professional level, leagues like the Canadian Football League and the various Arena Leagues get almost no respect even in the most football crazed parts of the country.
Along with this thinking, some people like to dismiss the most extreme version of high school football that cuts the player count almost in half, six-man football. In Montague County, Forestburg, Saint Jo and Gold-Burg play this brand of football at the high school level.
Played by necessity in school districts where the enrollment sometimes numbers less than a full 6A teams roster, this brand of football deviates more than the professional league off-shoots even more from the traditional 11-man.
Scores often look like basketball scores. The field is 80 by 40 yards. Everyone on the field is eligible to catch a pass. First downs are 15 yards instead of 10.
The person receiving the snap, who the quarterback would be in 11-man, cannot throw or run the ball. They must pitch, hand or throw it to someone behind the line of scrimmage who can. Field goals are worth four points due to the difficulty of getting a kick off with so few blockers.
With this in mind, extra points after touchdowns are flipped where a score from the two-yard line is worth one point and the kick is two. There is a 45 point slaughter rule.
With so much open space touchdowns are not a hope for every drive, but are expected. Defense comes down to not shutting a team down like what is expected out of most defensive units in 11-man, but coming up with a turnover here or a couple of crucial stops throughout the game. If a team’s offense does not make mistakes, they should score every drive.
With this expectation, field position is almost meaningless except for certain situation, rendering the act of punting almost useless.
“I think we punted about seven times total last year,” Saint Jo Coach Derek Schlieve said.
This has some teams thinking in some extreme ways that would almost never fly in 11-man football.
“Most teams will onside kick,” Schlieve said. “I think we onside kicked almost every time last year.”
With shorter rosters and kids playing most of the game with few breaks, the kids who play 6-man football are trained a little differently than usual 11-man football players.
“You have to be in way better shape, in my opinion,” Forestburg Coach Kyler Roach said. “I never played 11-man, but I’ve had some people I knew who came from an eight-man or 11-man school and they said it was the most running they had ever done in their life transitioning to six-man.” With so much space, tackling is even more at a premium since one missed tackle can be a catastrophe.
“It’s just a faster game,” Roach said. “You have to make very quick decisions and it’s a lot of one-on-one tackling. If you are a corner or safety and you miss then it’s a touchdown.”
This means every kid on the field will be counted on and tested on defense during a game.
“In 11-man football, you can kind of hide a weaker athlete in your scheme,” Gold-Burg Coach Gordon Williams said. “You can get your best players to the ball all the time. In six-man, it’s hard to get your best kids to the ball all the time. You may have to rely on a kid who is not a great open field tackler and he will be put in a spot where he has to be.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo will have a new boy’s basketball coach this school year.
Jacob Nocktonick is coming to the district after spending the last two years at Bland as an assistant coach. It is his first head coaching job in basketball.
Nocktonick graduated from Princeton High School in 2015 where he played and loved basektball. He graduated in 2019 from Tarleton State University and despite playing basketball up until he graduated, he did not see coaching in his future. He worked for most of three years after college at a landscape supply company, but something was missing from his life.
“I realized after being out of it for three or four years, something was missing from my life that I really loved,” Nocktonick said. “That was playing the game I love and being around people that really love to be there.”
Nocktonick did not have much experience coaching before then, but through his experience at Bland, he knows he has found his true purpose.
“I missed that passion,” Nocktonick said. “I love it and love the kids I have been working with.”
Nocktonick is especially excited in his role in shaping young men for the future through basketball.
“At the end of the day, people aren’t going to remember me for my records,” Nocktonick said. “I get to touch lives in this role. It’s a lot different than other jobs because I have a lot of kids that look up to me. Even past players from Bland still hit me up, asking for life advice and it’s just different.”
He describes himself as the type of teacher who likes to climb up on his desk and get everyone involved more than just lecture through power point presentations. That extends to his coaching as well.
“I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic,” Nocktonick said. “I want kids to know when the time is to be serious, but know we are going to have fun, bond and become like family. I am not in this for the business. I am in this for the relationships.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie cheerleading team went to cheer camp on July 13-16 at Texas Women’s University.
It was a good opportunity for the team to learn new things to take into the school year, according to cheer sponsor Destanie Curry.
“They learn their job is not to just lead the crowds in cheers, but they are ambassadors of their school and community and how to fulfill that role to the best of their ability,” Curry said. “Of course, they also learn stunt safety, new stunts, new cheer material and how to incorporate all this into pep rallies, routines and games.”
It can be intense, with campers expected to eat, sleep and breathe cheerleading from morning until night, staying positive and spiritful in everything they do since councilors are always watching and looking to see who will earn extra awards.
At the end of the four days, the Lady Rabbits cheerleading team took home several team and individual awards.
The team won one spirit stick daily and one on the final day. They were awarded each night to teams who demonstrated leadership, positive attitudes, excellent class participation and who respect and encourage one another, their coaches and staff.
Bowie earned its National Federation of State High School Association’s squad credential. The group earned Stunt SAFE, which was presented to teams that displayed excellent skills in spotting and stunt technique.
The final team award was in the Game Day Championship trophy. The competition included crowd involvement with a game day chant and cheer learned at the camp.
They were judged on crowd leading effectiveness, use of props, incorporation of stunts, technique and execution of skills.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona got its new press box into place this week at Jack Crane Stadium. The old press box, which was in place for more than 60 years, was taken out in early June and moved to Indian Valley Raceway. The new press box was by the Southern Bleacher Company out of Graham. Athletic Director Black Crutsinger said they looked at a lot of press boxes and decided they liked the one at Lindsay High School and went with that model. Sean Hutson operated the crane from the Hurd Crane Service that put the press box up for Nocona.
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