Nine - man football Nine - man football is a type of American football 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 s long by 40 yards wide field ( which is also used in eight - man and six - man ) ; 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 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 and has been proposed , but not yet adopted , in Alberta . This format of tackle football is also now played in British Columbia community / minor football at age groups from 8 to 15 years old . It is the standard format of play for 8 - and 9 - year - olds . The rules require that the offense align 4 players in the backfield and 5 on the line of scrimmage . A standard I formation has a quarterback , a fullback , a tailback and five linemen . Usually the outside linemen are a tight end and a wide receiver , 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 s , and two defensive back 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 . Some leagues , like the Sunday Football League in Grand Rapids , Michigan , have used 9 - man football as a way of furthering their " Passion to Play " . They play 16 games seasons and keep full stats . Their format differs slightly in field size , but formations are similar with the exception of a " lurker " in the deep backfield . Typically the lurker will lead the team in interceptions and spy the quarterback on the deep ball . 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 ) of every state in Australia also play nine - man football ( Except for New South Wales , Which plays 7 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 ) . In Italy and Argentina , there are also 9 - man leagues . In the state of North Dakota nine - man is played on a regulation 100 - yard football field . The game is played the same as 11 - man football . The only difference in nine - man is there is one TE and no FB on offense . On defense there is usually one less linebacker and one less defensive linemen . On offense you can pull your tight end and put in a FB . The only difference is that there are two fewer people .