Dexter plans to play 8-a-side football

DEXTER – The program may still reverse the field and remain in the 11-player game, but Dexter Regional High School is looking to be part of a number of Maine football teams – including much of Little Ten Conference (LTC) / Class D North – move to 8-a-side football when the 2020 season kicks off in August. School board SAD 46 supported the transition with an official motion at a March 4 meeting at Ridge View Community School. A timeline would be determined by the director and the director.

Dexter director Stephen Bell, who played for the Tigers in the 1980s, said a forum on the potential move was held last month with about 25 people in attendance. The bottom line is that if you follow Maine football there are a lot of changes, he said with about 10 programs playing an 8 game for the first time last fall. Bell said reports from these schools were positive.

He said Dexter has a long tradition of grilling, including being a founding member of the LTC in the early 1950s and winning three state championships in four years in the mid-1980s. It is not something we take lightly, said Bell. The bottom line is that there are up to 16 schools looking to go to soccer at 8 next fall.

He said that many LTC schools are looking to make a difference, Houlton, Mattanawcook, Mt. Voir, Orono (who didn't field a university team in 2019), Stearns and Washington Academy. Foxcroft Academy and Bucksport are looking to stay in 11-player football and in D South, only four programs (Lisbon, Madison, Oak Hill and Wintrhop) choose to stay where they are. Bell said he was not sure what the calendar for the coming seasons would look like, as the Maine Principals Association is expected to determine the number of football classes in 2020.

He said non-class D programs such as MDI, Waterville and Cheverus also went from 11 to 8 players, and that there could be more than a dozen teams through the change of state.

8-a-side football I can assure you it is the same thing, except three less on each side, Bell said. He said the field is still 100 yards but the grill is narrower. Its offensive, its defense, its special teams, its blockages, its tackles. It’s football, it’s just fewer kids on the field.

Instead of seven people on the line of scrimmage, you have five and one fewer back, said head coach Andrew Shorey.

In 2019, Dexter finished with an 8-2 record, both losses to Bucksport, including 46-8 in the Class D North championship. Bell said the Tigers had beaten Foxcroft Academy, but the win was the first team in the rivalry in three decades and the principal said it should be considered with the possibility of playing D South programs which are also traditional powers .

You have to look at what the calendar looks like and ask that this is the place for our kids ?, said Bell, also mentioning travel problems with southern Maine teams and familiarity if Dexter was still playing most of its LTC rivals.

Our numbers in recent years have been good, said Shorey, with a team of more than 30 players in 2019. I expect to be good next year, 25-30.

It is not next year that I worry, his years after that, he says. Shorey said that about 20 players participated in college football and 15 in grades 4 to 6 participated in the sport.

Our goal is to play 11, but we may not be around for a while, said Shorey.

As the numbers decrease, you are watching these larger schools, said Bell with player safety another consideration for the move. I think it keeps us competitive. But (the school board vote) would leave the door open for 11 men.

Bell said that at 8 men, Dexter would have a junior university program.

I think that allows us to have a better JV schedule than we had, said Shorey, as the Tigers would face many other LTC programs in sub-university competitions.

Former chairman of the board, John Parola, was present and when asked what he thought, football at 11 is 11, football at 8 is eight but his football.

He compared the switch to someone getting their first cell phone after using a landline all their life. You just keep going, it's something that will evolve and continue, said Parola.

Shorey was asked to comment on the players and said that he had met members of the upper class. They seemed very open and liked the idea, he said. The head coach also said he fully supports the move to 8 players.

Bell was asked about the impact of this change on the odds of a player wishing to continue the sport at university. If you are talented enough, they will find you, replied the director.

We firmly believe that 8-a-side football is the way to go unless something with the Maine Principals Association leads us to believe that staying in 11-a-side football is better, said Superintendent Kevin Jordan.

In other cases, Jordan said he receives almost hourly updates on the coronavirus. Essentially, where we are at this point, we are operating as we are every year right now with the flu virus, he said.

Jordan said that simple precautions like washing your hands, coughing properly, staying home if you feel unwell, etc. were encouraged. He said district officials have come together to review the pandemic plan, which is part of the larger SAD 46 emergency plan.

If it turns into a more serious situation, we will look at how we manage it if the school is closed for a long time, said Jordan. He said such a decision would be made in consultation with local health authorities and possibly those of the state.

We have no trips out of the state yet, he said about field trips. Some high school students will travel to Costa Rica in June, and Jordan said the trip could be discussed later if necessary.

We are preparing people for potential, but that is not an alarming thing, said board member Brian Sawtelle. Do not react in a way that will panic the community.

Jordan also said that the budget committee had met the previous week and that the groups developing the 2020-2021 spending plan would meet weekly until April. We have looked at the budget for fiscal year 2020, he said. Where we are at two-thirds of the way, at this point there is no problem.

He said that the committee has looked at the revenue forecast for the next school year. We have a little extra money coming from the state, it's always a positive amount rather than less money, said the superintendent.