Wolfpack football likely to remain 8-man

Elgin, Nebraska Antelope County, Nebraska

By Dennis Morgan
Co-Publisher
(Excerpt)
On Monday night, the District #18 Board of Education set the direction for Wolfpack football for at least the next two years.
Having discussed last month the merits of switching to six-man or continuing to play 8-man football, the board faced a deadline of having to notify the Nebraska School Activities Association of their intention.
Between last month’s meeting and Monday night, the Wolfpack committee consisting of representatives from both Elgin Public and Pope John met and reached a consensus to recommend staying at 8-man. After being made aware of the recommendation, the board voted 6-0 to continue to play 8-man football.
Both Superintendent Dan Polk and K-12 Principal Greg Wemhoff shared that it’s likely the Wolfpack will be reclassified as D-2 for football for the next two years.
The NSAA determines classes for schools to compete in based upon student enrollments. They said a change has been made, for football only, to use boys enrollment numbers to determine football classes. Right now, they projected 22 boys between the two schools, meaning a likely drop to Class D2.

UPDATE: The Pope John XXIII school board will be meeting at a later date to vote on the item. While their board will likely approve it, it will not become official until their vote.
Read about other items discussed in this week’s issue of The Elgin Review