By Henry O’Brien ‘20
Sports Editor
In the winter term of last school year, the Mercersburg Academy football team was informed that their team would be making a shift from the traditional eleven-player game to the more wide-open eight-player format. In addition to the change in how many players take the field, the new eight-player team would have a new head coach to lead them.
As the players returned from summer break, they had to adjust. Austin Monsereenusorn ‘20, a four-year player who plays guard, linebacker, and long snapper, said, “When playing the guard position, “the difference between eleven- man and eight-man football can be seen in the pace of play and in the offense we run, which is faster than ever before.”
Four-year veteran and starting quarterback Campbell Prentiss ‘20, who has been used to the eleven-man game for the past three years, now has to adjust as the signal caller on offense to the new system of play. “The transition has been a surprising one in the sense that some of the less obvious transitions have been hard. Everyone knows there are fewer people, so having more space makes sense,” said Prentiss.
While players sense differences in the new system, new Head Coach Andy Brown believes the only real difference is the number of players on the field. “Football is football…it’s still blocking and tackling.” However, one key difference for Brown is that he and his fellow coaches have had to change their offensive and defensive tactics and philosophies. “There has been a lot of brainstorming and a lot of creativity in how to adjust to the eight-man game. I coached in the eleven-man game and over the summer I took the schemes I used in eleven-on-eleven and put those into the eight-man model.”
With this new system, there is plenty of excitement brewing on the Mercersburg football team. Prentiss said, “I am excited to see more players than last year even though there are fewer players required on the field.
With more players, according to Prentiss, “the enthusiasm is higher than ever before.” With the new eight-man model, he and the other coaches have created, Brown is “excited with what we have, and we are ready for Saturday.”