Nine-man football

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Nine-man football

Nine-man football is a type of American football

American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
played by high schools that are too small to play the usual eleven-man game. As of 2007, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota had nine man football.

The size of the playing field is often smaller in nine-man football than in eleven-man. Some states opt for a smaller, 80 yard

Yard

A yard is a Units of measurement of length in several different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units....
s long by 40 yards wide field (which is also used in eight-man

Eight-man football

Eight-man football is a type of American football, generally played by small high schools. Rules and formations vary greatly among states and even among different organizations, but the one constant is eight players from each team on the field at one time, as opposed to eleven-man football, which is played at larger high schools, the college...
and six-man

Six-man football

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Nine-man football is a type of American football

American football

Yard

Eight-man football

Six-man football

Six-man football is a variant of high school American football that is played with six players per team, instead of 11....
); other states keep the field of play at 100 yards long while reducing the width to 40 yards or play on a full-sized playing field. In games played on 80-yard fields, kickoffs take place from the 20 yard line rather than from the 30 yard line.

A similar nine-man modification of Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played chiefly in Canada in which two teams of twelve players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide , attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area ....
is played on 100-yard fields (as opposed to the 110-yard standard field for that sport) by small schools in the province of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie provinces in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres and a population of 1,015,895 , mostly living in the southern half of the province....
and has been proposed, but not yet adopted, in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
.

The rules require that the offense align 4 players in the backfield and 5 on the line of scrimmage. A standard I formation

Glossary of American football

The following terms are used in American football and Canadian football, but see also the glossary of Canadian football....
has a quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American football and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the center , in the middle of the Lineman ....
, a fullback

Fullback (American football)

In American football, a fullback is a position in the offensive backfield. Traditionally, the duties of a fullback are split between power running and blocking for the quarterback on passing plays, and the running back on running plays....
, a tailback and five linemen. Usually the outside linemen are a tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offensive team. The tight end is sometimes the last man on the offensive line, but has a slightly different build and, in some cases, a different role than other linemen....
and a wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible receiver to catch a forward pass....
, but it varies by formation. The fourth player in the offensive backfield often plays as an additional wide receiver or tight end.

A common defensive formation is the 4-3-2, with four defensive linemen, three linebacker

Linebacker

File:Glennon_under_center_ACC_championship.jpgA Linebacker is a position in American football and Canadian football that was invented by football coach Fielding Yost of the University of Michigan....
s, and two defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of scrimmage....
s.

The games are frequently high-scoring because the number of players is reduced by more than the size of the field; thus fast players usually find more open space to run within the field of play.

In France, most competitions are played nine-man : games and leagues involving 19 year old players or younger, division 3 (Le Casque d'Argent) and regional leagues. Blocking under the belt is strictly forbidden under nine-man French rules, but the field size remain the same as in eleven-man football.

The Junior division (under 18's) in Melbourne, Australia also play 9 man football. The game is played on a full sized field, with modified timing rules (10 min quarters, running clock except the last 2 minutes of each half).

Nine-man football

See also