From the WIAA —
THE CHAMPIONSHIP: The seventh annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association 8-Player Football State Championship Game will be held Saturday, Nov. 15, at South Wood County Stadium in Wisconsin Rapids at 1 p.m.
ADMISSION TICKETS: The WIAA uses GoFan Ticketing for all digital and cashless tickets. Admission is $11 plus online fees for adults and students. All tickets must be redeemed on a mobile device. To purchase tickets, visit the WIAA website at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Tickets#42691696-8-player-football.
LIVE STREAMED ON WIAA.TV: The 8-player football championship game will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a $13.99 subscription to the live programming, log-on to wiaa.tv and click on the “Subscribe” link at the top of the page. Archived streams of the game will be available on demand 72 hours after the championship game with a subscription to the NFHS Network .
THE MATCH-UP: Both Gilman and McDonell Catholic will be making their first appearance in the 8-player championship game, and both are from the same conference. Gilman (12-0) has qualified for the 8-player football playoffs in four of the past five seasons of the tournament, which also accounts for the Pirates’ overall number of appearances in the playoffs. Prior to this year, their furthest advance in the bracket was to the third round in 2021. They have posted an 8-3 record in their appearances in the 8-player tournament field. Before transitioning to 8-player, Gilman qualified for the 11-player playoff field 15 times, including once in Division 5, four times in Division 6 and 10 times in Division 7. The Pirates compiled an 11-player playoff record of 32-12. Most notably, they won the Division 6 championship in 1986 and the Division 7 title in 2006. The Pirates also advanced to the championship game in 2005 and came away with a runner-up finish. Gilman was the champion in the East Division of the North Central Conference this fall. They earned the opportunity to play for the championship after beating Oakfield 30-12 in their State semifinal match-up played at Waupaca. McDonell Catholic (11-1) advances to the championship game with a 64-29 victory over Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas, last season’s runner-up, in the sectional final played at D.C. Everest. The Macks have qualified for the playoffs six times and have now compiled a playoff record of 7-5. Their furthest advance in the playoffs prior to this year was to the third round in 2023. Prior to the transition to 8-player, they made 10 appearances in the 11-player playoffs, compiling a 9-10 record. The Macks advanced to the championship final in Division 7 and finished runner-up in 2009. They finished runner-up behind Gilman in the East Division of the North Central Conference this season. Gilman defeated McDonell Catholic in Week 5 of the regular season by a score of 38-12.
2024 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP: Owen-Withee captured the State 8-player football championship with a 50-36 victory over Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas. Mason Gay accounted for most of the Blackhawk’s offense, rushing for 321 yards and six scores. That rushing yardage total ranks second-most in championship game history. Sully Poehler ran for 35 yards on nine carries. Dominic Sherwood completed his one pass attempt for 44 yards and a touchdown. The Owen-Withee defense was led by Colin Fritz with 17 tackles, including 10 solos and a sack, and Sherwood contributed with 12 tackles. Calvin Peters rushed 30 times for 178 yards and a score to lead the Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas offense. He also completed 10-of-16 passes for 122 yards and a pair of scores. Max Peterson and Ty Shallow each carried the ball eight times for 42 and 37 yards, respectively. Shallow caught five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, and Max Peterson made four receptions for 51 yards. Peterson led the Titans’ defense with 11 tackles.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HISTORY: Sevastopol defeated Luck 38-30 in the first title game, which was played at Stanley-Boyd in 2018. The first year featured an eight-team bracket that was expanded to a 16-team bracket in 2019. There was no championship game in 2020 because of COVID-19 guidelines and accommodations when only one level of the playoff was offered. Newman Catholic is the only program to have won two 8-player football titles. Newman Catholic and Luck have played in the most championship games with three.
REDUCED PLAYER FOOTBALL HISTORY: Reduced-player football has had a long history in the association. The WIAA introduced a reduced-player football option for the first time in 1937 with a six-player opportunity intended to serve small schools. An eight-player option was introduced a few years later, and prior to 1941, there were 90 schools playing either six- or eight-player football. World War II had an impact as the number of reduced-player teams declined to 70. In 1950, there were 50 six-player teams and 26 eight-player squads. By 1956, the eight-player game had all but replaced the six-player option as 71 programs were playing eight-player to only six schools sponsoring the six-player option. By 1969, almost every football program was 11-player with the number of teams playing eight-player dwindling to six. In 2012, the WIAA reinstated reduced-player football with 16 teams optioning for the eight-player format that season. For six seasons, the top four teams in two separate regions were afforded an opportunity to match-up and play in a four-game jamboree at the end of the season. In 2018, the 8-player football began with an eight-team playoff, which expanded to 16 teams in 2019 and then to 32 teams in 2025.
FACTS & FIGURES: There are 67 programs sponsoring 8-player football in 2025 and 51 are tournament eligible. There are several schools participating in the 8-player program that are ineligible for the post-season tournament because their three-year average enrollment exceeds 200, which is the threshold to be eligible for the 8-player tournament.
KEY DIFFERENCES IN THE GAME: In addition to only eight players on the field for each side, the game differs slightly from the 11-player format both in the field configurations and playing rules. The 8-player field is 40 yards wide and the distance between the hash marks are narrower than the 11-player field. The playing rules differ from 11-player in that there must be at least three players on the offensive line of scrimmage at the snap. Each player that is at the end of the line of scrimmage and each of the three players behind the line of scrimmage are eligible and may have any jersey number.
STATE TOURNEY CENTRAL: The WIAA has a one-stop page on the website for State Tournament information named State Tourney Central. The page displays links for users seeking information about the State Tournaments, including schedules, tickets, parking, venue carry-in policies, results, previews, where to watch broadcast and streams, apparel and much more.
WILSON IS THE OFFICIAL BALL: Wilson is the official game ball of the WIAA State 8-Player Football Final. Wilson footballs are also the official ball at the 11-player sectional finals, State semifinals and finals.
LICENSED STATE MERCHANDISE: Apparel sales for the 2025 WIAA 8-Player Football Championship game will be available by pre-ordering online through Tier 1 Sports. The link to order online is: tier1sports.com/product/2025-wiaa-8-player-football-state-championship/. Online pre-orders must be placed by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 10. Orders will be available for pickup at the venue in Wisconsin Rapids Saturday.