Last year, the first year of 8-man football in Maine, saw ten teams playing in the division. 2020 will see 26 teams participating in the 8-man game.
The additional sixteen teams are changing from the traditional 11-man game to the state’s 8-player version, which means 34-percent of Maine’s 77 football schools will be playing 8-man football this year.
The expansion is expected to mean that 13 teams will be in the eight-player large-school division (351 students or more) and 13 schools in the small-school division (350 students or less). It’s being reported that the Maine Principals’ Association is expected to hold two separate state championships. In 2019, the large-school and small-school winners met for the state title with Mt. Ararat beating Old Orchard 58-25 for the first-ever Maine 8-man state title.
