FCW's move to 8-man football has been a perfect fit

A very special tradition — playoff style — was rekindled last Saturday afternoon at Flanagan-Cornell High School.

Following the scoreboard clock hitting 0:00 and a trip through the handshake line after a 36-16 victory over Pawnee in the Illinois 8-Man Football Association quarterfinals, the Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland football team gathered around the victory bell just outside the northwest corner of the field.

The bell — which hadn't been touched following a postseason victory at Flanagan since an IHSA 11-man win over Watseka to open the 2007 playoffs — rang 36 times, once for each point scored, with each toll bringing with it a louder cheer from players and fans surrounding it.

"It was without a doubt special," said FCW wide receiver Tyler Harms, who was one of a handful of seniors that suffered through 27 straight losses the past three seasons. "My dad used to let me wear his letterman jacket to the games when I was younger, and I remember those teams ringing that bell, but it never sounded as good to me as it did today."

Harms, who had three catches including a 64-yard TD reception in the second quarter from senior quarterback Braden Wallace against Pawnee, says it's hard to put into words what the switch to 8-man has meant to him.

"This season has been amazing. We have an absolute great group of guys, they come to work every day, and we all get along. We all come to play, and this year we have been pretty good at it," Harms said.

"Our coaching staff has been positive from the first day of practice, and they have put us in the best positions to succeed. They are the first ones to tell us good job or tell us what we should have done differently — they all mean a lot to me.

"It's been a lot of fun to see the students, school and community come together around us, the signs around Flanagan, spray-painted numbers in the driveways. It's been more than I could have hoped for from my senior year football season."

The last three football seasons, Wallace was watching from the stands. But he says he made a pact to play this year, and despite adversity he's glad with the way everything has worked out.

"Head coach (Todd) Reed and (FHS boys basketball coach and athletic director Brian) Yoder were urging me to go out, and I said if my best friend (and fellow senior) Isaac Weber played that I would as well. Isaac was in a 4-wheeler accident and broke his left leg really bad before the season — I'm playing for him," said Wallace.

"I came to the games the past few years, I mean I had a lot of friends playing. It was really tough to watch and see them struggle like they did. When I showed up for the first practice I could sense the guys were a little skeptical ... kind of like, 'Who's this guy?' But after a few practices I think I proved myself a little bit, and everybody was telling me they were glad I made the decision to play.

"I'm glad I did too."

Across the 16-team I8FA, the story of a struggling football program, a chance of losing Friday Night Lights forever and looking for another option would probably be the norm. According to Pawnee head coach Kitt Thein, the Indians program was like others now in the I8FA, and the emergence of the 8-man game in Illinois couldn't have come at a better time.

"We were 1-8 in the past three seasons and playing a couple of 4A schools and teams that had double the number of players. We were getting our brains beat in," said Thein after his team finished the year 7-4 with the loss to FCW. "I can't speak for the two communities here, but seeing the crowd and followers they had here today, I think we are similar.

"Moving to 8-man football has been a huge shot in the arm for Pawnee and a positive without question for the kids, because we know we can be competitive."

Reed said that one of his goals for the Falcons' rookie season in 8-man was to knock off the rust on the victory bells at both fields. His squad is currently 8-3 including going 6-0 collectively at Flanagan-Cornell and Woodland this season ... so the bells may need a repaint in the offseason.

"After Week 9, having a playoff party after the program not being able to experience that in a number of years was special," said Reed, his team prepping this week for Saturday's 2 p.m. semifinal contest at defending champion Milford-Cissna Park. "We have had awesome support from both the Flanagan-Cornell and Woodland communities — from playoff shirts to pep assemblies — the excitement for FCW football hasn't been this high in a long time. It's a fun time right now.

"The seniors we have, the ones that went through the struggles of the last three seasons — guys like Tyler Harms, Jackson Mathe, Casey Earing and Austin Barnes — that's not easy to do. The 8-man game has been like a breath of fresh air for the program. We started with 26 kids, and we have 26 still heading into the semifinals on Saturday, and they have all contributed at some point this year.

"They have become a family, and it has been so satisfying to see."