Tiger Team of 2017 Rated Among Best Eight Man Teams

The Missouri Eight Man Coaches Association asked about some of the best eight man football teams ever. Worth County’s team of 2017 was listed by several people on Facebook as one of the best teams they have seen. That team went unbeaten and beat Sacred Heart in the State Championship game. They were ranked as one of the top six, eight, or nine man teams nationally on Max Preps.

Among other teams listed, along with some of our picks:

–North Andrew 2020;

–Mound City 2005, 2008, and 2016-19. One poster stated about the 16-19 teams, “You could keep up for a quarter or two, and it was over after that.” He mentioned the Poppa boys, T.J. Hopkins, the Marrs boys, Dylan George, and Walker Ross.

–Worth County 1995 and Nodaway-Holt 1995; the Trojans had been down for the last few years after their state title runs of 1990 and 1991; however, after losing their first game to Worth County, they didn’t lose another game for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Worth County, behind P.J. Sanders, rewrote the passing records along with receivers such as Nate Combs, Daniel Gladstone, and Ben Fletcher. The two teams met in the playoffs in the snow, and Worth County prevailed and went on to beat North Andrew for the state championship.

–Miami 1988; that team started off 0-7 and had five kids kicked off for grades and were down to 17 players. But the playoffs brought a shocking turn of events. First, they beat DeKalb and Missouri School of the Deaf to win districts. Then, they successfully invaded North Andrew before falling to South Holt in the finals. 

–1990 and 1991 Nodaway-Holt, 1994 Fairfax, and the South Holt teams of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

–Southwest Livingston 2020; that team completely rebuilt after losing the top rusher in the state in Mack Anderson from the year before and won state.

–Worth County 1998; Bobby McCutcheon posted that was the best eight man defense he ever saw or played on, and the offense was strong as well. That squad shut out five different opponents that year. That team started a dynastic run in which they won the 2000 and 2001 titles and won 28 straight games.

Not Posted On, but Deserving of Mention:

Not mentioned in the Facebook comments, but deserving of a shoutout were the 2007 and 2011 Tigers. Kyler Hiatt and the 2007 squad faced Taylor Sharp and Mound City in the cold and won 30-22 on a last-second score by Hiatt. In 2011, Worth County went to the Dome in St. Louis and beat Mound City again.

Pattonsburg 2019; Steven Willhite and the Panthers rewrote the passing recordbook along with receivers Cameron Jones, Brett Emig, and Dakota Eaton. He was ranked both statewide and nationally.

North/West Nodaway 2014; that squad dropped its first two games, but then proceeded to tear up the league behind quarterback Kobe Reynolds and receivers Trevor Meyer, Jakob Cordell, and Dakota Smyser. 

North Nodaway 1989; that team had a devastating line and backfield. Observers kept thinking that squad could be beat, until they actually played them and learned the hard way. In the District Championship game that year, they fell behind 18-0 against archrival West Nodaway, only to turn around and win 24-18 after stopping a last minute drive. 

Stanberry and North Andrew 2012-16; In 2012, Stanberry finally broke through and won a state title after Worth County had barred the way for so many years. That started off a series of rivalry games between Stanberry and North Andrew, in which North Andrew won in 2013, 2014, and 2016 while Stanberry won in 2012 and 2015. The closest game between the two was the 2015 game, in Stanberry made a goal line stand at the 1 to preserve the win.