Football remains at Bishop Grimes – and instead of getting left behind, the Cobras find themselves a possible vanguard of a trend that could only grow with time.
Back in the spring, four Section III schools – Grimes, New York Mills, Cooperstown and South Lewis – decided to adopt an eight-man form of football common in small schools throughout the United States.
Grimes head coach Jason Wait, who lived for five years in South Dakota, said that, in some of those states, there’s as little as six players to a side, leading to a wide-open game with lots of passes and touchdowns on the board.
Until August, the plan was to have a six-game schedule where each of the four teams faced each other twice in home-and-home series.
Then, in the first week of practices, two other schools, Pulaski and Oriskany, found that they didn’t have enough players on hand to start the season. Both requested a chance to join the eight-man league, and Section III agreed to it.
Now, the schedule has changed. Grimes will face the other five Section III teams along with a Section IV side, Binghamton Seton Catholic, that agreed to join the league. They’ll play five games against each other, starting on Sept. 21, during a six-week schedule that includes a bye week.
Regardless of the league’s size, Wait said the big positive result of this switch was keeping football alive at Grimes, which was important to the returning seniors still on the squad in 2017.
The Cobras finished last season with 17 players on its roster, and started with 19 this time around. It commenced practice on Monday just like it had in seasons past, putting players through a combine that included tests of speed, agility and other skills.
In the eight-man game, these tests are even more important, said Wait, because it can show where players best fit on the field, with wide receivers needing both speed and leaping ability.
The irony is that one of the quickest players on the Grimes roster is senior quarterback Jordan Newman. Entering his fourth year as a starter, Newman can run a 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, and is a perfect fit for a game that gives the signal-caller far more options.
“He (Jordan) is going to eat this up” said Wait.
When Newman throws the ball, his main targets will include Peyton Demuth, Zen LaPointe and Nate Gay, with Tyler Wait and Joe Wike among the top running backs.
On each snap, five players need to be on the line of scrimmage, three of them linemen. Center Scott MacPherson will anchor the Cobras’ line.
Though high scores are expected, and players will go both ways, defense is not getting neglected. Having the likes of end Marlon Brown as a defensive specialist could give Grimes a big edge.
With the task of maintaining football accomplished, Wait said his main task with Grimes is to have fun while still aiming to win games.
“We have speed, but lack size, so you’ve got to be creative,” said Wait.
The revised Bishop Grimes football schedule:
Sept. 23: at New York Mills, noon
Oct. 7: Binghamton Seton Catholic, noon
Oct. 14: Pulaski, noon
Oct. 21: at Cooperstown, 2 p.m.
Oct. 28: at Oriskany, 2 p.m.
Nov. 4: Championship game, site TBD
