Sportsbeat From competing to being competitive

?These are really exciting times for schools the size that we are,? said Wayne Karsten, Posen High School (PHS) athletic director, during his update Monday before the board of education on the growing momentum to establish an eight-player football division in Michigan. Heck, there might even be two, eight-player divisions. Stayed tuned for that. With 79 students enrolled at PHS, Karsten said it is getting increasingly difficult to field an 11-player team.

Karsten, who took over the football program as head coach a year ago, still believes he can compete at the 11-player level, but with an eight-player division, the playing field is leveled somewhat. If the switch is made, the small Division 8 school would go from competing to being competitive again. Just fielding a team of warm bodies isn?t going to keep the Friday night lights burning bright.

FORMER FOOTBALL coach Glenn Budnick and his coaching staff, which included Karsten, put together some of the best football teams in the history of the school at the start of this decade, but along the way the Junior Varsity (J.V.)program was lost, but success kept fueling success.

Now that the program is in one of those valleys that most schools go through, Posen is finding it difficult to pull out of their nosedive, hence the 2008 winless season. A move to eight-player football would offer the opportunity to possibly bring back the J.V. program and fund some success again.

Karsten has been selected to serve on the committee involved in establishing the new division, which could have its own state championship game at Ford Field in 2010. Karsten said some schools, particularly in the Thumb region, are going to it this year, although they wouldn?t be able to participate in the playoffs.

The state is overseeing the situation because of the scheduling problems, because under the current proposals, eight-player and 11 player teams would not be able to crossover and play each other.

?RIGHT NOW we are in the organizational stages,? said Karsten of the work being conducted by the committee. ?We are looking at fielding 20 teams for 2010. We?re looking at setting up playing rules that are not much different than the 11-man game.? The field size looks like it is going to be 100 yards long, but more narrow.

?They say it is like playing basketball on grass,? said Karsten. ?They say it is a really exciting game, high scoring. If you are looking for a 7-0 game, you are not going to find it here. I mean, you are talking about games with scores that are gong to be in the 40s and 50s, so it I a very exciting game for the spectators.? Posen would have to leave the North Star League just in football and lose Rogers City from the schedule, so that would be a loss.

On the other hand, Karsten is fighting the prospect of losing football all together. It came real close to that nearly two years ago. ?The first question we have is how much travel will be involved,? said Karsten. ?Is it more than what we have now? Probably. Is it going to be a lot more? I don?t think so. ?I?VE BEEN talking to teams in the Eastern U.P. conference, Cedarville, DeTour, Pickford and Brimley. They are all looking at going to eight-player football and they would be willing to go to a conference. Wolverine is also looking at joining.? DeTour, a once proud pro

gram, had its numbers slip drastically, went into that losing nosedive and had it shut down. Those still interested in playing went over to Cedarville. Posen would more than likely play those schools home and away to fill the schedule. ?I?ve notified the league that there is a very good possibility that Posen will be going to the eight-player league in 2010,? said Karsten. The school board has until next April to decide. ?It is all about giving students the opportunity to participate in athletics,? Karsten said at the meeting, ?this is just another great opportunity for our kids to be able to be successful.?

The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan has recognized the Posen boys? basketball team for finishing sixth in the all state academic voting with a 3.4624 grade point team average. Sophomore Shane Hentkowski finished as a ?special mention? in Class D.

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