Room to Grow: Ocala Christian Academy 6-0 after move to 8-man football

Daniel Young pulls in a pass during a drill in practice at Ocala Christian Academy in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. The Crusaders are having a remarkable season so far with a record of 6-0. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted October 1, 2021 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

Since deciding to drop from an 11-man football team to an 8-player squad in late May, the Ocala Christian Academy Crusaders have gone 6-0 for the first time since 2009.

The Crusaders have also outscored their opponents 296-40 in 2021.

OCA Athletic Director Allison Forsyth-Abney said moving to 8-man football was something the private school considered for years.

“We really felt that it was best for us,” she said. “Because our numbers were starting to dwindle.”

Many high schools opt for 8-man football teams due to smaller enrollment.

“We wanted to keep the football program,” said first-year head football coach Jim Pierce. “We struggled for a number of years with 11-man football. We just haven’t had the numbers to support it.”

At one point, OCA had 13 total players on its roster, often playing bigger schools with 38 or more players on their rosters. OCA players had to play every down on both sides of the football for the entire game.

“It’s really hard to compete,” said Pierce. “Even if we had a pretty good team, we’d get tired in the second half and ultimately lose the game, no matter if we were ahead or not in the first half.

“And no one wants to play on a team that isn’t winning,” he added. “How many kids want to play on a team that get their brains beat out on Friday night and still loses by 40? So, we moved to 8-man football to help give our program the best opportunity for success.”

And success is what they have had.

On Aug. 20, the Crusaders opened the season with a close win over Riverside Christian, 28-26. From there, they would roll over Four Corners (60-0) on Aug. 27; All Saints’ Academy (22-8) on Sept. 3; Real Life Christian Academy (54-6) on Sept. 10; Foundation Christian Academy (70-0) on Sept. 17; and Four Corners again (62-0) on Sept. 24.

The Crusaders competing in the Gulf Division of the Sunshine Conference—which includes 24 teams.

“We’re playing schools the size that we are now,” said Pierce. “Maybe bigger in some cases.”

The field for 8-man football is narrower at 40 yards, instead of 53-yards wide. While some of the smaller teams choose to play on an 80-yard long field, others, like OCA, play on the standard 100-yard long field.

“There’s really not much difference [between 8-man and 11-man football],” said Pierce. “There are no kickoffs and less defenders, but there’s also less offensive players, so it keeps you on your toes.”

Pierce said his priority is to build a team on character first. Everything starts there, he added and then branches out to the football field.

“That’s the most important thing to us,” explained Pierce. “The way we play and the way we behave. Football is just an extension of who we are as individuals.”

Dropping to 8-man came after more than 30 years of playing the 11-man version. But it wasn’t the only change made.

Currently, OCA offers a flag football program for its fifth and sixth graders and a middle school developmental league, which Pierce said the private school started last year.

The middle school levels provide the varsity high school football team with the feeder system it hasn’t had for many years.

“We were getting kids coming out in ninth grade that had never really played football before,” said Forsyth-Abney.

The athletic director further believes that the Crusaders’ recent success on the football field will generate more interest in the school in general.

“This could be something that could lead to other students in the county that have been sitting on a public school roster, and they may be third, fourth or fifth string on a team of 60 kids looking at OCA and thinking, ‘I’d rather go play football somewhere else,'” she said.

“And we’re seeing people in our stands that we haven’t seen in years,” she added, “which has been nice because they’re coming to watch us. That’s what we want.”

Ultimately, OCA would like to field an 11-man football team again, but it doesn’t see that change happening anytime soon.

“Our goal, in time, is to reach a point where we’re able to have the enrollment to produce and maintain an 11-man football team,” said Pierce. “We would love to go back, but our numbers have got to be up there.”

Pierce credited his team’s approach and attitude to playing 8-man football in 2021 to why the squad is successful. He also believes that his Crusaders team is even better than the first six games might indicate.

“I’d say we’re at about 60%. That’s scary for me as a coach to even say that,” he said.

With that said, Pierce is fully aware that on any given Friday, his Crusaders could do the one thing they haven’t done yet in 2021, and that’s lose.

“We’re capable of getting beat, just like anybody else,” said Pierce. “And we don’t take that for granted. I won’t let them take it for granted. But this team has not gotten close to its potential. It still has room to grow.”

OCA is next scheduled to face Oasis Christian on the road on Oct. 1. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.