Pomeroy gets ready for eight-man debut

Pomeroy, one of the mainstay teams of the Southeast 2B league, will be the new kids on the block for the SE Eights this year. Declining enrollment at Pomeroy moved the Pirates down to the eights under the WIAA classifications which have changed league alignments around the state.

Coach Scott McGee, who has headed the Pomeroy football program since 2005, said leaving the SE 2B was a little painful at first when he realized the Pirates won’t be making their traditional football stops this year. One of those matchups included a non-league game with Colfax early in the season. McGee said his travels through Dayton, Waitsburg and Asotin also generated thoughts of seasons past.

“But I think we’re all getting ready for the change. It’s really the same deal, but now we’ll be playing in new locations,” he noted.

McGee and crew realized eight-man football requires a new approach with its open field and speed requirements. The Pirates have been tuning up for the conversion.

“There’s a lot of experience coaches in this league, and a lot of tradition. I think we’re stepping out of the frying pan and into the fire,” McGee said.

Pomeroy will face seven league foes. Included in that lineup will be Whitman County teams LaCrosse/Washtucna, Colton, St. John/Endicott and Garfield/Palouse. The Vikings, who opted to play eight-man ball last year after being hit by injuries, have now been classified in the 1B division and can make a run at the eight-man playoffs this year.

Pomeroy’s football turnout this year dropped to 23 players compared to 36 last year. Among those 36 players last year were 12 seniors.

McGee said he has watched eight-man games in seasons when the Pirates were qualified for playoff sessions which also included eight-man rounds at the site. He said he has also been studying films and eight-man games and the Pirates attended a camp for eight-man teams at Cove, Ore.

Coach McGee believes the Pirates will be competitive in the eight-man circuit, but he expects that competition will be tough.

“I think we have a core of guys in that 140-160 pound class which seems to work in eight-man,” he commented. He noted Pomeroy’s top-rated wrestling program adds a toughness to the football lineup.

Early indications from Pirate practice session indicate they could have a passing QB and a running QB. Mack Wolf, a 170 senior, will carry the passing threat, and Ryan Smith, a 155-pound sophomore, could be running the ball.

The Pirates will also have Tory Knebel back as a junior. Knebel is now 5-10 and 175 pounds.

Austin Reisdorph, a 195 pound sophomore, has been carded for the fullback position.

Pomeroy will start the season Sept. 4 with a Saturday game at Dufur, Ore. The game will be part of a jamboree which brings 16 eight-man teams into Dufur. Unlike most pre-season jamborees, the Dufur format calls for full-length games which are played over two days.

Pomeroy will go up against Butte Falls, a team from southern Oregon, in their eight-man debut.