FRANKFORT — Frankfort has decided to cancel its junior varsity football season, due to low student athlete interest.
The lack of available plays also forced the Panthers to switch to an eight-player football format, including varsity starting next season.
“Just not enough kids,” said Panther coach AJ Eilers.
The season cancellation comes on the heels of a decent seven-win season. good enough for a fourth-place finish in the Northern Michigan Football Conference. The season termination may temporarily cut the program’s growth, which has seen the varsity football team finish two games or more above .500 over the past five years.
With the changes due to low numbers at the high school level, Frankfort’s hand has been forced to switch to an eight-player game setup, something that not everyone is disappointed about.
“I’ve been banging the table for years to do it for a while,” Eilers said. “(It) gives us more flexibility that we’ve been looking for since I’ve been here. It’s not perfect, but almost every team we used to play in conference has gone 8-man.”
Once one of the smallest schools in the state to play 11-man football, the Panthers will join a group of more than 75 schools participating in eight-player football. As Frankfort transitions to the new format, the varsity team joins Benzie Central, East Jordan, Glen Lake, Harbor Springs, Mancelona, Johannesburg-Lewiston, Tawas and Oscoda in the new look Northern Michigan Football Conference.
Eilers and assistant coach Ricky Worm laud the changes as something that will benefit the overall participation and playing time for each player on the roster.
“Even if we have good groups of kids come through with more (kids) than usual that is usually followed up with a smaller class that causes problems,” Eilers said.
Along with the two changes and newly-hired Will Schwarz resigning before ever coaching a game, the program seems to be experiencing growing pains after the departure of former head coach Ed Schindler. However, Schindler has kept an eye on the latest developments and has continued faith in the program future.
“It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t get more kids out,” Schindler said. “I don’t see Frankfort going downhill. There are plenty of people that care.”
As the second week of season approaches, the Panthers are left without a definitively-labeled head coach. However, coaching veterans Matt Stapleton and Eilers are working in unison to fill the position. Both members of the coaching duo receive high praise and endorsement from Frankfort’s former signal caller.
“I think we have a coaching staff with a lot of knowledge,” Schindler said. “AJ is very able coach. Stapleton is a very able coach.”