5-on-5? Modified 7-on-7 a new experience for Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland

You’ve heard of 7-on-7s.

How about 5-on-5s?

With the expansion of eight-man football across the state – the Illinois 8-Man Football Association has 28 teams spread across its four divisions for the 2023 season –the availability of summer scrimmages designed especially for eight-man football offenses is growing.

Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland, now in its fifth year of playing the eight-man game after decades playing the more traditional 11-man football, ventured out to its first 5-on-5 scrimmage this summer. The Falcons took part in an event hosted by former Heart of Illinois Conference 11-man rival Blue Ridge in Farmer City the morning of July 21 and did quite well, with FCW posting a 3-0 record in a field that included St. Anne, Peoria Heights and the host Knights.

Competing against other teams in the summer was a nice, beneficial change of pace.

“There was a bit more of a game feel [than practice]. There were less running plays, but everything else was pretty real.”

—  Payton Quaintance, FCW senior

“There was a bit more of a game feel [than practice],” FCW senior RB/DB/P Payton Quaintance said as the final week of Falcons summer camp got underway. “There were less running plays, but everything else was pretty real.”

Structured much like a 7-on-7, the 5-on-5 Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland participated in included a center [who does not count as one of the namesake “5″] to hike the ball to the quarterback, and then four receivers for the quarterback to throw the ball to. Quarterbacks also are allowed to scramble for a maximum 8-yard gain.

Defenses also are five-man squads. FCW head coach Todd Reed believes the experience was especially beneficial for his junior quarterback Seth Jones.

“We saw some man coverages, we saw some zone coverages, and it was nice for our kids to realize what teams are doing – especially Seth seeing some zone coverages and trying to overload the zone,” Reed said. “Just seeing the field awareness was really good for him, recognizing the difference between zone and man coverages.

“And defensively, we looked really good. I think we ended up with five interceptions on the day. It was a good experience for our first one. We were all just trying to get our teams some reps, get ‘em ready for the season.”

The feel of the 5-on-5 was indeed a bit more game-like, and the field openness created by having four fewer players running around than a 7-on-7 maintained the wide-open explosiveness of the eight-man game.

“It had a lot of competitive feel,” Falcons senior RB/TE/DL Kesler Collins said. “Like always, you’ve got kids talking, and it’s super competitive. And I also think it resembled eight-man football, because you still had your big play. In eight-man, if you get one kid free, he’s probably taking it for a touchdown.

“The game is a lot more fast-paced, and the 5-on-5 kind of resembled that.”

Reed said his team has been invited to multiple 7-on-7s over the years. The close proximity of Farmer City, the format of the scrimmage and the timing of the event made the Blue Ridge 5-on-5 a good fit.

His Falcons’ strong performance probably didn’t sour his opinion on it either.

“We only had three days of camp before we went into that 5-on-5,” Reed said. “So we put in our offense, the kids picked it up really quick, and we looked really sharp. That really helped with the experience.”