Centennial football is hoping fewer players will lead to more wins in the 2024 season.
The Broncos, under first-year head coach Riley Ostendorf, are making the switch from 11-man to 8-man football.
“Everything changes,” Ostendorf said.
With fewer players on the field, the playing area is also reduced. Eight-man games are played on an 80-yard field, where 11-man games are on a 100-yard field.
The Broncos attended camps this summer to help with the adjustments.
Ostendorf said the change has gone relatively smoothly.
Sam Ehlers, Ryan Richters and Paul Fehlhafer, all seniors on this year’s team, talked about the switch.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Ehlers said.
Ehlers, the team’s quarterback, said he still reads the same progressions in his receivers. Fewer people on the field means fewer defenders, but it also means fewer on offense.
“It’s been fairly easy,” he said.
Richters said, as a running back, the eight-man game is simpler.
“There are fewer gaps,” he said. “Once you get through the first level of defense, there’s only one or two to beat.”
He said running backs are better able to use their speed.
“Hit the hole hard and keep your momentum forward,” he said. “Speed will take care of itself.”
Lineman Fehlhafer is lookig forward to expanding his game.
“It’s legal to get to go out for a pass,” he said.
In addition, he said with a smile, he’ll only have three players to block instead of five.
The Broncos will have three linemen over 6 feet tall and 300 pounds, one of the biggest offensive lines in the area, Fehlhafer said.
“Our line will be a huge advantage for us,” Ostendorf said. “I’m super excited for that.”
Fehlhafer said one of the challenges for the line is the increased speed of the game, which gives more chances for big plays.
“You block as hard and as as far as you can on runs and better on passes,” he said.
The biggest change for Richters has come on defense. He plays a hybrid middle linebacker/safety now called a monster back. He keys off the guards to know which side of the field to move to.
“It’s been weird,” he said.
Ostendorf said defense is difficult because of the space each player has to cover.
“Speed kills,” he said. “We will give up touchdowns, but we will be exciting to watch. There’s a lot more one-on-one opportunities.”
Playing in Class D also means a greater chance of making the playoffs. Classes D1 and D2 each have 32 teams make the playoffs, which start a week earlier than the rest of the postseason.
“We have nothing to lose,” Ehlers said. “We just want to cut it loose.”
Ostendorf said the team’s goals for 2024 include a winning record and possibly the playoffs. With the experience returning, “we could shock some people,” he said.
Richters said player-led teams tend to have the most success on the field, so he expects the Broncos to pick each other up in practice “so we do great things in the season.”
Ostendorf said the team had a good summer.
“We have a good time, but we get after it,” he said.
Workouts have been designed to get the team ready for anything from a four-quarter game to overtimes.
Ostendorf played his high school football at Gothenburg where they ran a wishbone offense for a couple years and then switched to a spread offense. At Hastings College, he played for three different offensive coordinators and then served as a graduate assistant under Coach Matt Franzen.
On offense, the 11-man game is based on speed. Ostendorf said this year’s Broncos will go fast, with less than 10 seconds to snap the football.
“We will take deep shots and run the ball,” he said. “You will see some calls you’ve never seen. I like to draw plays on the sidelines.”
Practices have been tough, with the players constantly on the move.
“We have to be ready for up-tempo,” Ostendorf said. “We practice hard so the games are easy.”
Fehlhafer said the team saw better attendance at workouts and camps this summer and, with previous years’ experience, the team will be more ready.
“I’m looking forward to a different style of play and doing it with my teammates,” Ehlers said.
“I look forward to playing defense, hitting people and winning games,” Richters said.
He said fans will see the Broncos “fly around and have fun.”
Centennial will open the 2024 season at David City Friday, Aug. 30.
