Game Changer: Baldwin Looks to Build New Tradition

The second in a three-part series examining the growing number of northern Michigan schools sponsoring 8-man football. Today, we look at Baldwin, a school left without a conference this season and making the move to 8-man football in 2017.

BALDWIN – Faced with an independent schedule and a sometimes daunting travel itinerary, Baldwin becomes the latest northern Michigan school to make the move to 8-man football in 2017.

After posting four winning seasons and four playoff appearances from 2011-2015, Baldwin went just 1-8 as an independent in 2016.

Following the disbandment of the Northwestern Six Football League at the end of the 2015 season, Baldwin was left without a conference to call home in 2016, as all previous league members found new conferences. Manistee Catholic Central, which left the league after 2014, moved on to 8-man, while Onekama and Mesick joined the Northern Michigan Football League for 2016. Brethren also transitioned to the 8-man game in 2016, while Mesick will do so in 2017.

“Going into the season, I thought this would be our last season playing 11-man football,” Baldwin athletic director Shawn Williams said. “The biggest thing was the competition. It was very hard for me to find competitive games for kids. With our location, in the past we’ve had to travel to the U.P., and that travel has taken a toll on our kids.

“We started this year with 26 players and ended it with 15. You’re not going to be successful and have fun with low numbers.”

Without a league this fall, Baldwin played an independent schedule that featured two Class B schools and four Class C and saw the Panthers on the road for six of their nine games. With an enrollment of 132 students for the 2016-17 school year, Baldwin faced only one opponent this season with a smaller enrollment size.

The Panthers will join the Midwest Central Michigan 8-Player Football Conference, which expands to a 10-team league in 2017 with the addition of Baldwin, Atlanta and Hale.

Williams hopes the transition to the modified game will be a smooth one, as Baldwin has sponsored 8-man football at the junior high level for the last three years.

“The big thing is about continuing to still offer football to our kids,” Williams said. “I’m excited to continue on the tradition of Baldwin football and to build a new tradition playing 8-man football.”