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WAYNESBORO — Last season Fishburne Military School didn’t win a football game. It was a rough season for all involved at the private school in downtown Waynesboro.
This year, with a new head coach and a new form of football, Fishburne went from worst to first, finishing 8-1 and winning its conference championship.
“This feels amazing,” said Fishburne senior Nehemiah Hudson-Lea after his Caissons beat Randolph Macon 42-28 in the Military Conference championship Friday afternoon on their home field. “The whole team worked hard for it. That was one of our goals. We completely turned around our year. This is amazing.”
Fishburne switched this year from the traditional 11-man football — 11 players on offense and 11 on defense — to 8-man football. The field is narrower, only 40 yards from sideline to sideline instead of 53-1/3 yards. From goal line to goal line the field is still 100 yards, like traditional football. Other than the width of the field and three fewer players on both sides of the ball, 8-man football isn’t much different than it’s more popular cousin.
Fishburne athletic director Steve Wilson felt with the Waynesboro private school having around 100 students total, switching to 8-man football made sense. A lack of students hurt Fishburne in the past. Reducing the number of players needed to field a team seemed like a logical way to go.
Wilson hired Chip Crabill to coach the team. Crabill admitted before the season he knew very little about 8-man football, but he had coach 11 man for years and figured it had to be similar.
Turns out Wilson was right to make the switch and Crabill was right that he could coach this team.
Fishburne won its first six games of the season before finally losing to Greenbrier Christian Academy out of Chesapeake. That was an out of conference game for the Caissons, who joined forces…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/zero-hero-fishburne-military-school-081517043.html
Author : The News Leader
Publish date : 2024-11-02 08:15:17
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