Eight - man football Eight - man football is a type of American football , generally played by small high school s . 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 level and in the NFL . As of 2012 schools in Alabama , Arizona , California , Colorado , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Iowa , Kansas , Michigan , Missouri , Mississippi , Montana , Nebraska , New Mexico , Nevada , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Oregon , Tennessee , Washington and Wisconsin have eight - man football . There are also a few teams in Alaska playing eight - man football . Differences from eleven - man . The main difference between 11 - man and 8 - man football is most notably the elimination of three players . It depends greatly on the type of formation used , but the eliminated players are commonly two offensive tackle s and a wide receiver on offense and two defensive back s and a defensive lineman on defense . The size of the playing field is often smaller in eight - man football than in eleven - man . Some states opt for a smaller , 80 - yard s - long by 40 - yards - wide field ( which is also used in six - man ) ; other states , such as Oklahoma , Colorado , North Carolina , South Carolina and Idaho , keep the field of play at 100 yards long while reducing the width to 40 yards . Finally , some schools , such as those in north Idaho , Washington , and Oregon , play on a full - sized playing field . There are several professional eight - man football leagues in the United States , due to the eight - man format being adopted by most indoor football leagues . These leagues usually use a 50 - yard by roughly 25 - yard field , as professional 8 - man football is usually played indoors . There are some eight - man leagues that play outdoors , however ; in Texas the American Eightman Football League ( AEFL ) plays on a 100 - yard field , and in Illinois and Missouri , the Eight Man Football League ( 8FL ) plays on a 60 - yard field . In terms of gameplay , eight - man football is quite different from its eleven - man counterpart . Due to a smaller field and fewer players , the tempo of the game is noticeably faster - paced . Scores tend to be higher , even in high school games where quarters are only 12 minutes long ( rather than 15 ) . Especially in high school , a higher percentage of plays are trick plays ; direct snaps , Wildcat formation plays , and fake punts and field goals are somewhat more common . Game play . Offense . Variety of offensive play in eight - man football is significantly reduced due to the decrease in options resulting from fewer players . Formations usually require three players in the backfield ( a quarterback and two running backs ) and five on the line of scrimmage . The interior of the line consists of two guards and a center . Most often , the line players on the edges of the formation are tight end s , or are occasionally split wide as wide receiver s . Formations vary widely between schools and states , but commonly include the I formation and the T formation ( sometimes referred to as " pro set " ) . Common plays include the counter , dive , option and sweep . Passing is usually not as common in eight - man as it is in the eleven - man game . In certain formations , the center or guards can be eligible to catch passes . Due to the competitive imbalances that commonly occur between small schools , eight - man games sometimes end early due to the 45 - point or " mercy " rule . Depending on the rules in force , when one team gains a 45 - point advantage over the other , the game is either governed by a running clock for the remainder of the game or the game ends immediately . A team that has won in this fashion is said to have " 45ed " the other team . Beginning with the 2012 season , Iowa has adopted a 35 - point running clock mercy rule that begins any time the point differential is 35 or more after the end of the first quarter ( as opposed to the 11 - man game , in which the same rule is invoked only after halftime ) . Attempting the extra point kick after a touchdown is rare in eight - man , due to the lack of specialized kickers and holders and the inability to block defenders from interfering with the kick . For this reason , teams often attempt a two - point conversion instead . In some states that use an 80 - yard field , infractions that normally result in a 15 - yard penalty are reduced to 10 yards in eight - man ball . Often , however , the penalty yardage is still the same as in eleven man football . And likewise , on touchbacks , the ball is spotted on the 15 - yard line instead of the 20 . Defense . General defensive alignments in eight - man football consist of defensive linemen , linebacker s , and defensive back s . The most common formation is a 3 - 3 - 2 , in which three defensive linemen ( usually a nose tackle and two defensive end s ) line up in a " down " position , with three linebackers standing behind , either stacked over the down linemen , lined up on the inside shoulder of the linemen , or on the outside shoulder of the linemen . Two defensive backs then have coverage responsibilities , either with deep halves or man - to - man with the offense ' s receivers . The 3 - 2 - 3 defense has gained popularity due to the increase of passing - oriented offense in the eight - man game . It substitutes a third defensive back for a linebacker . Alternate formations include 4 - 3 - 1 ( linemen - linebacker - safety ) , 3 - 4 - 1 , 4 - 2 - 2 and 5 - 3 among others . Popularity in Israel . The Israeli Football League , an eight man league was established in Israel in 2005 with three teams , Haifa Underdogs , Tel Aviv Pioneers and Tel Aviv Sabres . The league was established by Israeli players and activists under the leadership of Ofri Becker , and though playing without equipment , this was the first ever tackle football league in this country , named Israeli Football League ( IFL ) . in the end of that year the Haifa Underdogs won the first championship , beating the Tel Aviv Pioneers . In March 2008 , at the end of the first season played in full gear , the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions defeated the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs 24 - 18 in overtime in Israel Bowl I . In Israel Bowl II in April 2009 , the Dancing Camel Modi ' in Pioneers defeated the defending champions Big Blue Jerusalem Lions 32 - 26 after two overtimes . The game was decided by a whole field interception return for a TD by Pioneers ' Ohad Naveh . That season was played with five teams after the expansion franchise of Jerusalem Kings was added . The 2009 - 2010 season was played with seven teams , introducing two new franchises , the Beer Sheva Black Swarm and the Judean Rebels . In the 2010 - 2011 season , an eighth team was added ( The Herzeliya Hammers ) , and the league was split into 2 divisions , IFL North and IFL South . The 2011 - 2012 season saw 10 teams , with five in each division , North and South . The North Division consisted of the three Tel Aviv - area teams : the Sabres , Pioneers and Hammers ; as well as the Haifa Underdogs and Naharia North Stars . The South Division was made up of the three Jerusalem - area teams : the Rebels , Lions and Kings ; as well as the Petah Tikva Troopers and Be ' er Sheva Black Swarm . The IFL continued to expand for the 2012 - 2013 season , adding another Tel Aviv - area team , the Rehovot Silverbacks . Due to the odd number of teams , the IFL abandoned the North and South Divisions , and now each team plays every other team in the league one time during the 10 game season . Popularity in Ireland . An Eight man league is also played in Ireland . This league , named DV8 , is used as developmental league for rookies before they go on to compete in the 11man IAFL . In 2009 , six teams will compete in the DV8 league - Dublin Dragons , Edenderry Soldiers , Trinity College Dublin , Craigavon Cowboys , UCD Sentinels and Erris Rams Popularity in Alaska . Recently in Alaska there have been two eight man football teams created . The only two towns playing right now are Point Hope and Voznesenka . The two teams played the first eight man football championship in 2009 , where Point Hope won 27 - 20 . The teams have been playing JV teams as opponents along with scrub teams created from nearby towns . Many people in the state think that eight man football is a good idea to keep kids occupied on something new . In the future more eight man teams may pop up across the state . Competition with larger schools . Occasionally , schools in a small division with larger enrollments are forced to play eight - man , despite having a player turnout sufficient for eleven - man . This is done when the school in question has no other schools of similar size nearby . In addition , teams have been known to play combination eight - and eleven - man games , in which both teams compromise by fielding eight players per team when School A is on offense and School B is on defense and 11 players when School A is on defense and School B is on offense .