MIL to compete in 8-man football this season

There will be more football in the Maui Interscholastic League this coming season.

For the first time in the state, eight-man football will be played officially on the high school level. The MIL's small schools - St. Anthony, Seabury Hall, Hana and Molokai - will field eight-player teams, MIL executive director Joe Balangitao confirmed.

The game is still similar to the 11-player game with some modifications, Balangitao said. At least five players must be on the line of scrimmage with two ends being eligible; tackles are among the three fewer players on the offense. Three players in the backfield also are eligible receivers.

The football field will still be 100-yards long with the 10-yard-long end zones. But the width will be narrower. A 100-yard field is 53 feet, 4 inches in the 11-player game. The eight-player field is 45 feet wide.

Games will be played at Hana, Seabury Hall, Molokai and War Memorial.

St. Anthony last fielded an 11-player team in 2008. Molokai did play non-league games in the 1960s.