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Northern 8 Football Conference
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The Northern 8 Football Conference is an 8-man football conference sponsored by the OHSFCA that began competition in the 2020–21 school year and is made up of 8-man teams from high schools located in Henry, Lucas, Mahoning, Monroe, Ottawa, Portage, Sandusky, Trumbull, and Williams Counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania.
Members
[edit]
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Joined League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Stritch | Cardinals | Oregon | Red, Black |
2025 |
| Chalker | Wildcats | Southington | Orange, Black |
2024 |
| Danbury | Lakers | Lakeside | Blue, White |
2020 |
| Holgate | Tigers | Holgate | Purple, Gold |
2020 |
| Kennedy Catholic | Eagles | Hermitage | Maroon and Gold
|
2026 |
| St. Mary Central Catholic | Panthers | Sandusky | Navy Blue, Vegas Gold |
2021 |
| St. Joseph Central Catholic | Crimson Streaks | Fremont | Crimson, Gray |
2024 |
| Sebring McKinley | Trojans | Sebring | Purple, Gold |
2023 |
| Stryker | Panthers | Stryker | Blue, White |
2020 |
| Windham | Bombers | Windham | Black & Gold
|
2026 |
Former Members
[edit]| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Tenure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Christian | Eagles | Toledo | Blue, Gold |
2020-2024 | Went back to 11-man, playing independent for one season. |
History
[edit]The Northern 8 was created in October 2019 when Stryker and Toledo Christian agreed at a meeting to form the league for OHSAA schools that are committing to play 8-man football for the future.[1] The OHSAA does not currently sponsor the 8-man game,[2] but several member schools resorted to that option instead of playing the traditional 11-man game or choosing not to play out the season.[3] Stryker and Toledo Christian forfeited their football membership in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, but remained members of the Buckeye Border Conference and the TAAC respectively, for all other sports.
Two other schools that attended the initial meeting would later get board approval to join the league: Holgate agreed to join later on in October 2019[4] and Danbury joined in November 2019.[5] Holgate was ultimately kicked out of the Green Meadows Conference for this decision, but joined Stryker in the BBC for all other sports beginning in 2021.[6] Danbury also remained in the Sandusky Bay Conference's River Division for other sports.
In July 2021, St. Mary Central Catholic was invited to play in the league for two years. The Panthers began play with the 2021 season but intended to get back to 11-man football eventually. As of 2023 they still intend to play in the N8FC.[7]
In October 2022, the league announced that Sebring McKinley of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference was invited to join for the 2023 season.[8] The Trojans had similar issues with 11-man football and had only won 37 games between 1993 and 2022 after posting their last winning record at 6–4 in 1992.[9]
In November 2022, The N8FC hosted its first ever State Championship, which is currently being sponsored by the OHFSCA as of 2022, with the Holgate Tigers beating the Toledo Christian Eagles 37–34.[1]
On October 20, 2023, St. Joseph Central Catholic announced their intention to play 8-man football in the N8FC beginning in 2024. They believe this will offer safer competition against schools closer to their size.[10] On November 7, 2023, the conference announced they had admitted SJCC and Southington Chalker into the league, beginning in 2024. Chalker fielded a varsity football team for the first time since 2020, as they were not able to field a team in 2021. They became a club football team in 2022, and played a hybrid JV/8-man schedule in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.[11]
In December 2024, Toledo Christian announced it would return to 11-man football as an independent in 2025 and will return to the Toledo Area Athletic Conference in 2026.[12]
In April 2025, Cardinal Stritch in Oregon, Ohio announced its football program would return as a member of the Northern 8 after having cancelled two of its previous three seasons due to low participation.[13]
In November 2025, Kennedy Catholic was officially accepted into the league. The Eagles played an 8-man schedule with N8FC opponents in 2025, but didn’t officially join the league until the next season. Windham was also accepted into the league at the same time after seeing dwindling enrollment and roster numbers for the past few seasons.[14]
The league is actively looking for more schools to commit to a two-year membership. They have not set a definite number of schools to be members.[15]
Conference Championship History
[edit]| Year | School | Location | Nickname | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | St. Mary Central Catholic/St. Joseph Central Catholic/Chalker | Sandusky/Fremont/Southington | Panthers/Streaks/Wildcats | 6-1 | 9-1/7-3/8-1 |
| 2024 | Toledo Christian | Toledo | Eagles | 9-0 | 11-0 |
| 2023 | Toledo Christian | Toledo | Eagles | 5-0 | 8-1 |
| 2022 | Toledo Christian | Toledo | Eagles | 6-1 | 9-2 |
| 2021 | Toledo Christian | Toledo | Eagles | 4-0 | 8-1 |
| 2020 | Danbury | Lakeside | Lakers | 3-0 | 8-0 |
8-Man State Championship History
[edit]| Date | Winning team | Losing team | Winning team Score | Losing team Score | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 4, 2022[16] | Holgate Tigers | Toledo Christian Eagles | 37 | 34 | Bobcat Stadium, | First ever Championship game[17] |
| November 4, 2023[18] | Toledo Christian Eagles | Holgate Tigers | 46 | 6 | Rex Lingruen Stadium, | |
| November 16, 2024[19] | Toledo Christian Eagles | St. Mary Central Catholic Panthers | 24 | 0 | Don Paul Stadium, Fremont, OH | |
| November 8, 2025 | St. Mary Central Catholic Panthers | Chalker Wildcats | 34 | 20 | Leetonia Bears Stadium, | First game hosted in Eastern Ohio. |
8-Man, Championships by Team
| Team | Wins | Loses | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Christian Eagles | 2 | 1 | 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| St. Mary Central Catholic Panthers | 1 | 1 | 2024, 2025 |
| Holgate Tigers | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chalker Wildcats | 0 | 1 | 2025 |
| Danbury Lakers | 0 | 0 | |
| Sebring Trojans | 0 | 0 | |
| Cardinal Stritch Cardinals | 0 | 0 | |
| Stryker Panthers | 0 | 0 | |
| Windham Bombers | 0 | 0 | |
| Kennedy Catholic Eagles | 0 | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ Junga, Steve (October 3, 2019). "Area schools establish Ohio's first eight-man football league". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Watkins, Jimmy (September 16, 2019). "SMCC's 8-man football decision part of changing football landscape". Sandusky Register. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Biviano, Dennis (September 19, 2019). "Smaller High Schools Resort to 8-Man Football". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Junga, Steve (October 22, 2019). "Holgate officially joins Northern 8 Football Conference". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Kollars, Brian (November 19, 2019). "Danbury makes move to 8-man football". Sandusky Register. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Calvin, Nate (February 6, 2020). "Holgate To Become Member Of BBC After GMC Votes To Remove School From League". The Village Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Kollars, Brian (July 19, 2021). "Northern 8 announces addition of St. Mary CC football". Toledo Blade. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Keating, Mike (November 1, 2022). "Sebring admitted to Northern 8 Football Conference, will begin 8-man football in 2023". Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "Sebring McKinley All-Time Football Results". Yappi.com. July 28, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ News-Messenger Report (October 20, 2023). "Prioritizing safety, SJCC will move to 8-man football in 2024". Fremont News-Messenger. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ Yauger, Brian (November 10, 2023). "Chalker to join 8-man league". Tribune Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ Junga, Steve (December 4, 2024). "Toledo Christian announces return to 11-man football". Toledo Blade. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ Junga, Steve (October 3, 2019). "Area schools establish Ohio's first eight-man football league". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "8-man football league expands to include 2 more local teams".
- ^ "Cardinal Stritch announces decision to play 8-man football". Toledo Blade. April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ "High school football roundup: Holgate tops Toledo Christian for Northern 8 crown". The Blade. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
- ^ "'This is a huge step': OHSFCA to host 8-man football state championship in 2023". wtol.com. June 28, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
- ^ "Toledo Christian defeats Holgate to win Ohio 8-man football championship". The Blade. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
- ^ "2024 football playoff guide: What to know about Toledo-area postseason picture". The Blade. Retrieved October 9, 2025.