Best Kept Secret in American Sport: How to Watch a 6-Man Football Game

The Best Kept Secret in American Sport:

By:  Leman Saunders

If you find yourself in need of an adventure one Friday night and venture out in search of a football game, you may stumble across a type of football that seems a little different.  In the smallest classification of schools in Texas, an abbreviated game known as 6-Man Football is played.  It is a game played by over 250 schools, public and private, in the state of Texas, as well as a handful of schools in Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, and Idaho.  This fast paced, exciting brand of football is probably the best kept secret in American sports.  It is all the excitement of the 11-man game, long runs, jaw dropping hits, electrifying special team plays, amazing passes and catches, nail biting coaching calls, all magnified in every play.  However, before you head out to one of these Texas outposts to discover for yourself and experience this secret first hand there are a few things that a novice to 6-man needs to know...

How to Watch a 6-Man Football Game

Know the History:

Born out of the depression, 6-man football was the brain child of a rural Nebraska educator named Stephen Epler who thought that rural American schools with limited enrollments should be able to play football.  Most of these small schools had high participation in basketball, so Epler concluded that surely if 5 players could be found to make up a basketball team, 6 should not be out of the question to make up a football team...and that was how the number 6 was chosen.  The first game was played in Nebraska in 1934 and quickly spread across the county in each passing year.  It found its way to Texas in 1936 and became an officially sanctioned sport by the UIL in 1938.

Show up early:

There is no doubt the game is unique, but a big part of that allure is found in the towns and communities that bear witness to the game every Friday night.  The very essence of what high school sports should be all about, community involvement and school pride and no other classification of football or high school sport can match a 6-man community when it comes to this.  So show up a few hours early, take in the town, visit the antique store on the corner where the old bank use to be…stop into the “Greasy Spoon” and enjoy a cup of coffee and a slice of pie while eves dropping on the table of old timers about their thoughts on tonight’s game… arrive at the field early and watch the teams warm up while eating a frito pie made by one of the players’ moms in the concession stand.  Be sure to pick out a good midfield seat on the 40 yard line (as you notice that there is no 50 yard line in 6-man football) and watch as slowly two whole towns come out to support their teams.

Pay Attention:

Unlike its 11-man counterpart, the 6-man game is fast paced and wide open, and therefore it is important to time your trips to the concession stand and bathroom properly, in order to miss as little of the action as possible.  If there is a large crowd, be aware that this isn’t their first rodeo and they all will be better versed in this than you are, yes even the fans must be fast paced and quick with their timing during breaks in the action (which only occur briefly after touchdowns and at the end of every quarter), so plan out your path ways and know your order before you leave your seat to save you time, as it is not unheard of for 2 and sometimes 3 touchdowns to be scored within a span of seconds off the game clock…you wouldn’t want to miss back to back kickoff returns for a touchdown would you!

Know the Rules and Terminology:

There are slight differences in rules for the 6-man game and it is better to know them before hand, or catch onto them as quickly as possible, in order to let yourself get fully immersed in the game.  There are a few other rule differences other than the ones listed here, but these are the main ones you need to be aware of early on…

Early on you will probably notice that the field is slightly smaller, to be exact it is an 80x40 field, thus making midfield the 40 yard line and eliminating the 50 yard line (as well as 19 other yard lines) all together.

Next, the phrase “1^st and 10” should be replaced with “1^st and 15” as it takes 15 yards to make a 1^st down and not 10.

Every player is eligible to move down field and receive a pass!  This one rule, more than any other, helps make the game of 6-man football more fun for its players than its older 11-man brother by giving every player the opportunity to know what it feel like to score… and just maybe a game winning… touchdown!

Be aware that what is traditionally referred to as the “Quarterback” (the player who receives the snap from the center) cannot advance the ball across the line of scrimmage without the ball being in possession of another player first.  As a result some teams will have offensive schemes that involve a pitch back to a “Spreadback” that will give them the option to run or pass the ball.

Due to a number of factors, there is a premium on kicking and thus a kicked PAT is worth 2 points and a run or pass play resulting in a PAT is worth 1 point.  Also, if you are lucky enough to witness one attempted, a field goal is worth 4 points instead of 3.  While we are talking about kicking, don’t be alarmed to see teams kick onside kicks early and often (if not all the time) and more often teams will try for the first down on 4^th down plays than punt the ball way…which leads to a far more exciting game than the “crowded field” version of the sport.

Sometimes games can get out of hand and to help with that there is a mercy rule in 6-man football.  If a team is leading by 45 points or more at halftime or any point after halftime the game is official ended via the 45 point mercy rule and thus the term “45’d” is often used in the vernacular of the 6-man community and their own brand of number sense has evolved to where every fan knows with little thought needed just how many more points need to be scored in order to end the game early.

Truly “It ain’t over till it’s over”:

A common rookie mistake of upstart 6-man spectators is to assume a game is out of hand and one team cannot possibly come back and make it competitive, let alone win.  Unlike the 11-man game, in 6-man there if there is a missed tackle or 100% blocking on the part of the offense a touchdown is not that hard to come by as there is no second line of defense there to back you up.  Add to this the explosiveness and athleticism of the athletes and the river boat gambling style of coaches when it comes to the kicking game it all makes it very possible to score quickly and get the ball back and score again within literally a matter of seconds.  I have seen team down by as much as 32 points mount a comeback and win, and teams that were 1 or 2 points away from being “45’d” come back and almost pull off an upset and win!  Do not make the assumption that a game is over because in 6-man, more than any other sport, “it ain’t over till it’s over!”

Most Importantly…Be Respectful:

What really makes 6-man football unique is not only does the town, it’s players, and coaches love, respect and rally around the game, but unlike any other classification in the state of Texas every single school in the state that plays the game comes together and forms a “6-man Community”.  These individual towns, communities and teams band together and will stick up for one and other and be there in support for one another when needed.  6-man football in a sense is a representation of life in these small towns.  It is something that only they understand and there is a constant fight for respect and acceptance with the outside world.  The game, and by proxy the towns and the life it represents is something that can only be truly appreciated if you have experienced it and lived it firsthand…something that people from larger cities cannot fully know the joys or the struggles of.  6-man football is one common thread that runs through many of these places across the Texas landscape and the people who show up every Friday night in these towns hold the game dear to their hearts and consider a slight against the game as a slight against themselves and their community… so please above all else be respectful and enjoy and respect the game, and everything that it represents.