FIELD TWP- After a four-year foray into Class A 11-man football, the North Woods Grizzlies will be back in the nine-man division this year, and rather than looking at it as a demotion, Head Coach Joel Anderson sees it as a welcome opportunity.
“That’s a fantastic thing for us based on our numbers,” Anderson said during a break in Monday’s first team practice. “Our numbers are a little bit down this year compared to where they’ve been. Class A was the right class for us to be in when we’re graduating ten-plus kids in grades. This year, I think I’ve got one senior out, about four or five juniors, and a handful of sophomores. So, we’re in a good place (in nine-man). We’re happy to be here. We’re going to get to work.”
While Anderson inherited the head coaching reins during the 11-man stint, he’s no stranger to the nine-man version, and with the expertise assistant coach Mark Fabish brings to the table, the adjustment should go smoothly.
“I’ve coached nine-man many, many years,” Anderson said. “The biggest difference is that the roles kind of increase for each player. I would say that in 11-man football, your roles are pretty singular. On defense, if you have outside contain you have outside contain. With nine-man on the defensive side, you tend to have to look at two things at once and decide which one it is at the snap. Offensively, it’s a little more challenging for our guys. There’s a number of different sets, and it’s a lot of fun. One or two guys can make a much larger impact in the nine-man game.”
Anderson wasn’t ready to commit to a particular set yet, as he’s still evaluating his personnel and will choose offensive and defensive sets that will capitalize on their abilities. And a new slate of opponents will factor into his choices as well.
“Week to week, it’s going to be determined by who we are playing,” he said.
One adjustment the Grizzlies will have to make is playing on a narrower field.
“We just found all the old markers on the field here,” Anderson said. “It’s eye opening to see how much the field changes from what we’ve been used to playing on. We lose 14 yards of space out here, but it’ll be fun.”
But the narrowness of the field doesn’t seem to constrain the ability of offenses to score. Winning scores trend higher in nine-man football. In the Grizzlies 9-2 nine-man season in 2017, they put up an average of over 40 points per game in those nine wins.
Players often get hyped up for rivalry games, and North Woods had some budding intense rivalries at the 11-man level. But Anderson doesn’t expect to lose that edge dropping down to nine-man, he said. Most of their opponents are schools they already play in other sports, like basketball and volleyball, and four years isn’t too far removed to re-ignite some of those old rivalries, even with a whole new set of players.
If nothing else, Anderson is looking forward to leveling of the playing field. As one of the smaller schools in Class A, having the numbers to compete successfully was often a challenge.
“The biggest difference, other than the roles that are assigned individually, is just the sheer number we’re going to see on the sidelines. We’re looking for grades nine through 12 at 20 or so kids. A lot of our opponents last year had 60-70 kids on the sidelines. There’s just fewer bodies on the opposing sideline – it’s a much more even match.”
The new look Grizzlies are scheduled to kick off the pre-season at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26 with a scrimmage at Mt. Iron-Buhl. The regular season gets underway on Thursday, Aug. 31 when North Woods hosts Lake of the Woods at 7 p.m.