By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Windham High School announced Wednesday it will move to 8-man football effective immediately for the 2026 season.

The Bombers are the newest members of the Northern 8 Football Conference, which was formed in 2020 and is sponsored by the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association.

“Our overall male enrollment has dwindled dramatically and at the end of the day the kids just want to play football, regardless if it is 8-man, 11-man or 6-man,” Windham football head coach Jake Eye said. “With just over 50 boys in grades 9-12, roughly 50 percent of our male enrollment is playing football, which is unheard of at most schools.

“We are eager and excited to compete in the new league,” Eye added.

In addition to Windham, the Northern 8 Conference includes the following teams: Cardinal Stritch, Southington Chalker, Danbury, Holgate, Kennedy Catholic (Pa.), St. Mary Central Catholic, St. Joseph Central Catholic, Sebring McKinley and Stryker.

Nearby opponents for the Bombers will be Chalker, which played in the conference’s state-championship game in 2025 and lost to St. Mary Central Catholic, as well as Sebring McKinley. The team’s other opponents will introduce longer drives into Henry, Lucas, Monroe, Ottawa, Sandusky and Williams Counties in Ohio, as well as Mercer County in Pennsylvania.

“I know it is moving away from traditional football, which was an obvious point of contention by some, but the more and more we thought about things, it made sense for us to look into it and try it for a couple of years to evaluate things and see what happens,” Windham athletic director Dougle Hankins said. “The downside is the travel, but we have had to make trips in the last couple of years that were a couple of hours away.

“To be honest, it is just getting harder and harder for us to find schools our size to play in non-league play. Beside Bloomfield, we are the smallest school in the NAC (Northeastern Athletic Conference).

“Seeing the success that Southington (Chalker) had this fall had an impact on our thought process,” Hankins added.

Windham’s roster sat around 20 in 2024, but experienced a slight pop in 2025 and was near 30 at its highest point before injuries knocked it back down to 27 during the season.

In comparison, the other smallest roster sizes in Portage County this season belonged to Waterloo (18), Rootstown and Crestwood (33 each) and Mogadore (39).

Northern 8 Football Conference commissioner Lynn Groll was excited at the continued growth of his 8-man football league.

“Windham is practically in the backyard of Sebring (McKinley) and (Southington) Chalker, which really boosts our presence in the eastern part of the Buckeye State,” Northern 8 football commissioner Lynn Groll said. “I know from my conversations with Windham athletic director Dougle Hankins, the Bombers and their community are excited to be part of the Northern 8.

“The Northern 8 Football Conference is in a great place right now,” Groll said. “I am confident Ohio is close to adding more eight-man programs and is potentially on the doorstep of more eight-man conferences forming.

“I feel it is time the Ohio High School Athletic Association got behind eight-man football and sanctioned it with a playoff each fall.”