UPPER LAKE >> Frank Gudmundson doesn’t coach swimming at Upper Lake High School, but he’s about to watch the Cougars jump off the high board and into the deep water that is eight-man football.
Beginning with their 2015 season opener against Rincon Valley Christian in Santa Rosa on Sept. 5, the Cougars, once an 11-man powerhouse and a school that appeared in three section championship games during a seven-year span, winning twice, are about to embark on a new adventure.
While most of the rules for eight-man football are the same as in the 11-man game, the Cougars will be operating on a slimmed down field that is 80 yards long (instead of 100) and 40 yards wide (instead of 50). Even so, with three fewer people of the field, that is still a lot of ground to cover, which is one reason why eight-man games tend to be high-scoring affairs.
“Forty to 30 is pretty common … points will be scored and there probably won’t be any shutouts,” Gudmundson said. “You need to be ahead by three touchdowns going into the last minute of the game to feel comfortable. Teams can score in a hurry.”
Onside kicks are the norm in eight-man football because the risk is worth it, especially if you can pass the ball well, according to Gudmundson.
“If you don’t get it you’re still up around midfield. You risk it for the biscuit,” he added.
Part of a 10-team league, all nine of the Cougars’ games will count in the standings beginning with Rincon Valley Christian. The top two teams at the end of the regular season then meet in a 10th game for the championship. There are currently no sectional playoffs in place for eight-man football.
Other teams in the league will be familiar to Cougar fans as both Calistoga and Tomales have dropped their 11-man programs for the eight-man game because of dwindling enrollments and reduced interest in football.
Teams that used to make up the old North Central League III — Rincon Valley, Potter Valley, Round Valley, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, Point Arena and Laytonville — round out the league.
Gudmundson said he can only hazard a guess on the projected top teams this year.
“I’ve heard that Anderson Valley is the team beat, but Tomales could be pretty good, too,” he said.
Of much more concern to Gudmundson is his own squad. With only two other schools in the league capable of fielding junior varsity teams this season, Upper Lake’s freshmen and the majority of sophomores might get only two dedicated JV games. On the other hand, all of the approximately 30 players out for football at Upper Lake will be considered varsity players, all eligible for varsity action, according to Gudmundson.
“Even if they’re not playing a lot,” Gudmundson said of the younger players, “most of them will get in on special teams. We’re not going to put them into situations they can’t handle.”
Three of the more promising underclassmen are sophomore George Khalil, an offensive and defensive lineman; sophomore Jacob Kaliwaia, who is likely to see action at defensive end and fullback; and freshman running back/outside linebacker Chris Fecht, who is a natural football player, according to Gudmundson.
“We need athletes on the line and we have them,” Gudmundson said. “You don’t have to be a huge lineman in the eight-man game, but you have to be athletic.”
And the one thing Upper Lake has more of than it has had in recent years is team speed and athleticism, according to Gudmundson.
“We are looking forward to getting into the end zone and knowing we’re going to win some games,” Gudmundson added.
That wasn’t the case last year during the team’s final dance with the 11-man game. With a roster that fluctuated between 12-14 players most of the season, Upper Lake went 0-10 and scored 19 points all season.
While optimism is abundant in Cougar camp this summer, Gudmundson is the first to admit that you don’t learn about a team until it has suffered some sort of adversity.
“What’s going to happen with that first loss? How will they respond? That’s something that will determine their tenacity,” Gudmundson said.
What are the keys to eight-man football?
“You have to be able to get second-level blocking. On defense, you have to be great at open-field tackling and you have to be able to chase people down. You have to take the proper angles or you’re in big trouble,” Gudmundson said.
The Cougars have been doing all of those things well in practice, but the first test comes against Rincon Valley Christian, according to Gudmundson.
While Upper Lake has been preparing for the transition to eight-man football for nearly a year, the Cougars didn’t know that the player they built their offense around, quarterback Nick Newcomb, wouldn’t be returning this season. He has moved out of the area.
“All of our offense was designed for him, so we had to change that,” Gudmundson said.
The heir apparent to the quarterback job is Andreas Santos, who will form part an Upper Lake offensive backfield — along with Kaliwaia and Fecht — that Gudmundson likes a lot. Another boost for the offense is Florida transfer Derek Pritchard, a junior quarterback who has playing experience at a much bigger high school.
“He has command presence in the huddle,” Gudmundson said. “And he has pretty good touch on his passes. If he’s not playing quarterback, he will be playing somewhere else.”
While Upper Lake’s offensive line isn’t big by 11-man standards, it’s probably big enough for the eight-man game, according to Gudmundson.
“We have some heavier guys we can use on fourth-and-goal from the one or in short-yardage situations,” he said. “But we also have a lot of lean athletic guys who can move.”
The list of returning players isn’t a big one as the 2014 squad was senior-dominated. Santos, Chase Goetjen, an offensive lineman and defensive end, and safety Alex Sanchez form the nucleus of the team.
Other names you can expect to hear a lot during the season are center Luke Sorenson, quarterback/linebacker Isaac Nevarez, wide receiver/cornerback Isaiah Garcia, offensive lineman/linebacker/kicker Francisco “Pancho” Flores, wide receiver/safety Ray Gutierrez, and wide receiver/outside linebacker Zachary Sneathen, who has moved over from the cross country ranks where he was one of the fastest runners in Lake County.
“We are fast,” Gudmundson said. “We’ve added a lot of team speed.”
Whether that is enough to offset the team’s lack of experience remains to be seen.
“We are a young team, but the attitude of this team is so much better than it was last year,” Gudmundson said. “The coaches don’t have to be both full-time counselors and coaches this season. We’re doing a lot more coaching this year.”
While the Cougars don’t have the benefit of a backlog of game films to break down their new league opponents going into the season, Gudmundson said that’s OK.
“They don’t have film on us either. The 11-man stuff wouldn’t help them and most of those guys are gone anyway.”
As is the poor attitude that infected the 2014 club.
“There’s none of that this year,” Gudmundson said. “The kids are out there having fun and there are nothing but smiles from the coaching staff.”
Serving as Gudmundson’s offensive coordinator this season is former Upper Lake standout Vince Moran. The team’s defensive coordinators are Justin Dutcher and Joe Ogulin while Mike Smith serves as assistant head coach.
“These kids want to be coached,” Gudmundson said. “We’re looking forward to the season.”
