Six-man football

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Six-man football is a variant of high school American football that is played with six players per team, instead of 11.

It was developed in 1934 as an alternative means for small high schools to field a football team during the Great Depression; Stephen Epler, a high school coach at Chester, Nebraska, created the game. In 1938, six-man football was first played in Texas, where the sport had gained its greatest popularity.

It is a fast-moving game played on an 80-yard (73 m) long by 40-yard wide (37 m) field (instead of the normal 100-yd (91 m) by 50-yd (46 m) field used in 11-man football. Furthermore, the game specifies a 15-yard distance (14 m) from the line of scrimmage to gain a first down, instead of the normal 10 yards (9 m).

All six players are eligible to be receivers. On offense, three linemen are required on the line of scrimmage at all times and three players in the backfield. The person to whom the ball is snapped cannot run the ball past the line of scrimmage unless the ball has been unintentionally fumbled; however, if the ball is tossed to another player, that player can run or throw the ball and the person to whom the ball was snapped is still an eligible receiver. All forward passes to the player who snapped the ball (center) must travel at least 1 yard (1 m) in flight.

Scoring is the same as in 11-man football, with the exceptions being on the point after touchdown attempt and the field goal. A point-after kick is worth two points, while a conversion made by running or passing the ball is worth one point; this is the opposite of 11-man football. In addition, a field goal is worth 4 points instead of 3. These rule changes were made because of the difficulty of successfully getting a kick off with so few blockers on the line compared to the number of defenders. In both University Interscholastic League and Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools competition, a 45-point "mercy rule" exists to prevent lopsided scoring deficits (no such rule exists in the 11-man game). The game is ended under this rule if a team is losing by 45 or more points at halftime or at any point after. The mercy rule is alluded to in the title of the David Morse film about six-man football, The Slaughter Rule. This rule, however, has not always been followed. In 1946, in their first game ever, a six-man team from Little Valley, New York was said to have defeated its opponent, a former 11-man team from nearby Randolph by a score of 72-0.

The state of Texas has over 110 teams, a number that is increasing (due to both the decline in small-town West Texas populations as well as newer private schools opting for six-man football as less cost is required for equipment). The sport is also played by high schools in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming and in parts of Canada.