Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
Saginaw Nouvel head coach Mike Boyd is not thinking at all about the possibility of the Panthers’ varsity program dropping down to 8-man football in the future.
Despite the difficulty of having enough numbers for a varsity roster and also sustaining a junior varsity program, Nouvel is going to stand pat in 11-man football for the immediate future.
“That’s years down the road if it ever happens,” Boyd said after Nouvel lost 42-21 to Ottawa Lake Whiteford in the Division 8 state championship game on Nov. 24.
The Panthers had 23 varsity players this year, while they brought 42 total players to Ford Field for the state title game with all the JV players also making the trip.
Two late touchdowns by Nouvel made the final score closer, but the blowout loss did have one benefit.
“We ended up playing some younger kids out there today especially up front,” Boyd continued. “A couple of our juniors had big games for us. Our numbers are at the point where you do start to wonder, but for us we have another possible solution.”
Nouvel has discussed with the MHSAA the possibility of dropping down to 8-man football for its JV program, which would allow those kids to continue their development on the field during games rather than drop a junior varsity team altogether.
“If we went that route, I don’t see why it would be at any detriment to those kids’ development,” Boyd said. “Football is football. As long as they are playing games in any capacity, they’ll have the chance to become better players.”
Boyd joked that he is like New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in only paying attention to his own team and not the world of 8-man football, but did add that he caught some of Central Lake rallying for a 32-20 victory over Deckerville in the Division 1 8-man state championship game.
“We were up at the Superior Dome in Marquette for our semifinals game and I watched that game,” Boyd added. “It’s a fun product and we’ll embrace it for our JV kids if it comes to that.”