Diller-Odell Griffins Move To Six-Man Football Next Season

Paving a road for success. This is the reasoning for Diller-Odell to move down to six-man football for the next two seasons.Currently in eight-man football, Diller-Odell finished this past season with a record of 1-8. Superintendent Mike Meyerle noted that building a culture of winning can start, in his opinion, with six-man football for Diller-Odell.“I think (Diller-Odell principal) Matt (Mezger) and I made our feelings clear that this is a good time to switch the next two years and see what happens,” Meyerle said, noting the decision was ultimately up to the school board.Patrons were consulted over the last month by Diller-Odell officials about moving to six-man football.Meyerle explained that the district estimates 27 boys, grades 9-11, will be available for football next year, which according to regulations, would make the Griffins eligible for six-man football playoffs.“The frustrating thing is our declaration is due the 30th (November) and the NSAA (Nebraska School Activities Association) does not release their official numbers until after the 30th,” Meyerle said. “By everybody’s count, Matt, myself, Amy, there is no way we’ve had more than 27 kids. So, we’re at the number, so we’d be eligible for six-man football playoffs next year.”Mezger explained, “We’d be eligible the next two years. The next two-year cycle, if we’re at 29 in September, 9-11, we can still play with a waiver two more years. After that, we’d either have to go back up or be ineligible.”Pawnee City was an example used by Meyerle and Mezger to show what can be done for a district by going to six-man football.“Pawnee played two years in six-man and weren’t that good,” Mezger said.The last two years Pawnee City were in the semi-finals and finals of the six-man playoffs.“The numbers they turned in in September was like 29 or 30, so they now had their grace period, so they either have to go back up to eight-man and be eligible or stay in six-man and not be eligible,” Mezger said.Using Pawnee City as a road map, Meyerle noted that the team was 0-16 in 2018-2019 seasons in eight-man football. In 2020, the first year at six-man football, the Pawnee City squad was 5-3 and then went 6-2. This season the squad went 9-1.“I am not going to say we are going to go in and clobber everyone, but I do think, logically thinking, and being around here as long as I have been, the teams you play every week won’t be Johnson, Lourdes, Osceola, Sacred Heart, normally, it won’t be,” Meyerle said. “I think we need to give our kids a better chance to succeed and learn how to win games. Once you learn how to win, you adjust and know how to win.”There are some differences between six-man and eight-man football: for six-man, it is first and 15 yards instead of 10 like in eight-man, and quarters are 10 minutes long instead of 12 minutes, among other rule changes.“It will take a lot of work and our coaches are going to have to re-invent themselves, but I think that is a good thing for our kids to add some enthusiasm and life into the program,” Meyerle said. “They are going to see some new faces.”Teams that Diller-Odell would potentially face in six-man football with the switch would be Meridian, Lewiston, Dorchester, Sterling and Pawnee City, to name a few.The board voted 5-1 to approve the move to six-man football next year with Dusty Duis voting ‘nay.’

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