Six Man Football

After writing my last first piece on the approach of fall and with it the football season, I actually spent part of my weekend taking in a six- man football scrimmage. Had I known ahead of time that I would be attending the event, I would have probably waited to write a single article. All things being equal however, I thought this would warrant mention.

            First off let me say that for all my nostalgia and anticipation of autumn it’s not here, not yet anyway! The preseason scrimmage took place on the Grace Community School (GCS) football field and it was hot! With the sun reflecting off the bleachers it was also very bright, which only served to add to a certain amount of discomfort. I should add by the way that it is not my intention to cast dispersions on GCS for hosting the event, they have been extremely gracious in making their facilities available for the Six- Man games, but when it’s hot it’s hot, hospitality aside. The game was what’s referred to as a three way scrimmage. I’ve been around high school sports for a number of years now, and I’ve never actually watched a football game with three teams participating before. Basically the offences and defenses would rotate in and out of the game like players in a volleyball match. Each school had an opportunity to engage each of the others on both sides of the ball. It also gave the coaches a chance to get an idea of what the other teams are doing and how their prospective teams are progressing against potential rivals. The Schools who participated in the event were King’s Academy Christian School in Tyler and out of town rivals, Leverett’s Chapel, and Fruitvale. Because the game was unofficial and off the record no scores were kept, and stats were just for the coaches’ use, but all three teams had the opportunity to trade a few hits and prepare for the coming season by facing some outside competition. Despite the heat, the players did well, and spectators seemed to have a good time meeting with folks they’ve probably not seen over the summer months.

            To learn more about six- man football including field differences and rule changes, look for the article entitled Six- Man football Returns to Tyler, or Football is Back in 2010 located elsewhere on this site. For more on Tyler area private schools, look for Private Schools in Tyler TX, also on www.tylertxdirectory.com.