LVHS football team forced to play eight-man

Change is due to injuries, low enrollment and players quitting

BY KRIS REILLY, EDITOR

The Mustangs are playing a new brand of football.

Injuries and declining enrollment have left Lucerne Valley High School with an insufficient number of students to play traditional 11-man football. To make matters worse, a handful of players walked out on the team after an 0-4 start.

Now and for the foreseeable future, the LVHS varsity team will compete in eight-man football. The game is similar to 11-man football except it is played on an 80-yard field instead of the traditional 100, and the lower number of players can lend itself to different formations and tactics.

“Eight-man is going to be something new for me and my coaching staff and my players,” Lucerne Valley coach Chris Klinger said before the team played its first eight-man game against Riverside Prep in Oro Grande last Saturday.

Klinger was unsure how his team would respond to the new challenge, but the new era got off to a fast start when the Mustangs defeated Riverside Prep’s junior varsity squad 52-34 last Saturday.

LVHS started the season with a small roster — less than two dozen total players — before a rash of injuries hit. When a small group of players quit during the team’s rough start, the Mustangs were left with just a dozen varsity players and had to forfeit their games against Mojave and Mammoth.

Due to the school’s low enrollment, Klinger said the change will be permanent. Enrollment has declined steadily in recent years due to a number of factors, including a drop in the town’s population.

Klinger hopes to get the Mustangs into the Agape League next season, which will allow them to play against local teams.

“It feels like a new challenge for us,” senior offensive lineman Danny Jauregui said. “It’s a better place for us.”

The Mustangs will also play a few junior varsity 11-man games this season. LVHS is scheduled to host Silver Valley’s 11-man junior varsity program at 4 p.m. on Friday and then will play a varsity eight-man game at home against Lone Pine at 1 p.m. Saturday.